FRESH interest in acquiring part of the site formerly known as Our Lady’s Hospital has been expressed.
Valued at €1.25m in 2015, the site was sold at an online auction in 2018 for €750,000. The hospital was designed by William Fogerty, it opened as the Ennis Asylum in 1862, it became Ennis Mental Hospital in the 1920s and was renamed Our Lady’s Hospital in the 1950s, the hospital closed in March 2002 and has changed hands several times in the subsequent two decades.
For the upcoming County Development Plan, the Ennis Municipal District with the support of all seven councillors should make a submission that “Our Lady’s Hospital site would be zoned Commercial, Residential, Educational and Recreational. It’s essential that parts of the old derelict hospital would need to be de-listed, in order to develop its full potential and realise its commercial value,” Cllr Pat Daly (FF) proposed.
Public consultation for the County Development Plan runs until 28th March 2022 with a consultation event scheduled for 26th January at the Scout Hall beside the Parish Office on Station Rd. “At the end of the public consultation process all submissions will be considered and a response and recommendation will be set out in the Chief Executive’s Report which will be issued to the Elected Members for their consideration,” senior executive planner, Candace Ingram stated.
“This site is a huge asset to the town of Ennis,” Cllr Daly remarked. He said the old hospital was “a hindrance to any future development”. He claimed that plans for a five-star hotel failed “due to a listed building”. Daly continued, “I know people from Donegal came to look at building a private hospital, it failed and never went to planning”.
A new owner is talking with planners at present, Daly told the January meeting of the Ennis Municipal District. “It is important that something would happen, it is a prime site on the town of Ennis. The planners are going to look at it, it is important that it is part of the County Development Plan, if it goes back another ten years it is a failure, it has to happen now”.
Mayor of the Ennis MD, Cllr Ann Norton (IND) noted there was a new party interest in purchasing the site. “There is a lot of work that needs to be done, there are a lot of areas on the site that can be developed, others would cost serious money due to the fact they are listed. It is an eyesore on the outskirts of Ennis. It is a shame that it hasn’t been developed at this stage. There is communication going on with the planning department. It is such a shame that the site was let go into such disrepair”.
Praising her colleague for tabling the motion, Cllr Mary Howard (FG) acknowledged, “this site is hugely complicated”. She stressed, “it is incumbent on us to make it less so and make it attractive for those willing to invest in it”. On the periphery of the site there are different owners “which makes it more complicated,” she felt. The listed building was “a huge impediment,” Howard maintained.
“It is within walking distance of the town centre so it ticks every box be it educational or commercial. I am sick of looking at the site, the building across the road is now derelict. We need to grab this one and do whatever we can to make sure the developer can do something with it. It is dangerous, we’ve had illegal encampments, dumping and drug taking going on in there,” Howard added.
