Cost of restoring Cork fireman’s rest could top €300k
Restored Rest' 'fireman's The Anglesea Picture: Darragh On Kane St
The bill for the restoration of Cork’s famous fireman’s rest could top €300,000, it has emerged.
The 120-year-old structure, which deteriorated badly while in storage following its removal for the revamp of St Patrick’s Street in 2003, has been painstakingly restored in recent months and installed outside the city’s main fire station on Anglesea Street.
City councillors were told last night that the first phase of the restoration has cost over €200,000, that the work is ongoing, and about another €100,000 could be spent on it before the project is finished.
The figure emerged in response to a written question from independent councillor Ken O’Flynn who sought details on the costs involved in the heritage restoration project.
Paul Moynihan, the director of services in the council’s corporate affairs and international relations directorate, said the restoration project is ongoing and final details on the overall costs is not possible at this stage.
“Phase one of the project is complete, which has resulted in a reconstruction and refurbishment that has secured a closed-in building,” he said.
“Phase two will include the installation of the decorative elements of fascia gutters, lettering, and finials etc, as well as drainage and further landscape and groundworks.
“To date, in excess of €200,000 has been spent on the project, with further payments due to be made.”
Mr Moynihan said the money involved includes professional fees and the detailed recording of the restoration project.
While he said it is difficult to attach a monetary value to the preservation of such an iconic heritage structure, Mr O’Flynn said confirmation that phase one has cost over €200,000 proves "that you put a price on heritage".
Mr Moynihan also confirmed that the issue of whether or not planning permission was required for the installation of the structure outside the city’s main fire station was examined at the procurement stage of the project, and it was deemed that Part 8 planning was not required.
Speaking afterwards, Mr O’Flynn said while it is good to see the fireman's rest restored, the bill could have been vastly reduced if the structure had been properly stored over the last 20 years.
“We are now spending almost €300,000 restoring a piece of Cork history which should never have been removed, and certainly, should have been stored better,” he said.
“If it was looked after carefully over those years and stored properly, we might not have this bill today.”
The fireman’s rest was commissioned by the then Cork Corporation in early 1892 and was 120 years old last year.
It was originally assembled for the Cork Fire Brigade and was shared by them with the staff of the old tram company between 1898 and 1930 and it was later used exclusively used by CIE from 1931 to 2003.
But it was removed during the revamp of St Patrick’s Street, and was left in a council storage yard in Fitzgerald Park, where it deteriorated.