*Photograph: Tom Micks
REVISED plans have been submitted by Clare County Council for future development of The Cloister.
Last September, the Council was allocated €6.9m as part THRIVE Town Centre First Heritage Revival Scheme to transform The Cloister into a multi-use community space.
Funding was sanctioned for the local authority from the Southern Regional Assembly via the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
Plans have been revised with the Council submitting a new Part VIII application on Friday. The proposal includes a new entrance and arrivals courtyard, visitor reception, and an exhibition and orientation hall at ground floor level, supporting the planned visitor experience linking to Ennis Friary and improving accessibility within the building. At first floor level, the plans provide for office accommodation alongside exhibition and community rooms to support education and wider community use.
Detailed design is expected to commence for the project in the third quarter of this year with the start of construction marked for the second quarter of 2027.
Initial plans submitted in December 2024 were to retain the existing ground floor café and existing kitchen over two floors and the retention of the bar licence. An ‘Art Wall’ was also to be created on the ground floor exterior onto Abbey Street “in order to facilitate engagement with art in the public realm including digital display and projected media”.
Acting senior executive officer for tourism, festivals and events with Clare County Council, Theresa Hughes Lannon explained that the previous planning application provided for a change of use from a bar and restaurant. “The revised proposal is designed to enhance tourism in the town by providing a dedicated visitor experience”. She confirmed full consultation for the project runs until June 22nd with an open information evening taking place on Tuesday (May 19th) from 16:00 to 18:00 in the Buttermarket building, Drumbiggle.
Tomás Prendeville, acting senior executive architect with the Council briefed elected members of the Ennis Municipal District on Tuesday. He described the Cloister as “a very important part of Ennis and it is seen as a gateway to Ennis, a very important heritage building, a protected structure and it bookends Abbey Street, perhaps most important is that it is located next to the Friary”.
He said the aspiration of the new plans will connect the Cloister with the outbuildings in the vicinity including the Friary. The aim is to create “a tourism attractor” with a visitor experience based on the Friary. The ground floor will have a new entrance and courtyard, a visitor reception, exhibition space and orientation hall, he outlined. The intention for the first floor is to have offices, education and community rooms serving “a wide range of functions” including hosting community meetings, fitness classes, youth clubs, dance classes, rehearsals, professional training and seminars. The second floor is for WCs and storage, he confirmed.
Cllr Pat Daly (FF) described it as “an exciting project, it will be a huge tourism project. It is sad to see another pub going in the town but to balance it out, it will be a good tourism project”.
Council officials were praised for listening by Cllr Tom O’Callaghan (FF), boosting tourism numbers in Ennis is essential, he stated. “The economic activity is the driver, everything costs money, this is a way of creating capacity”.
A new vision for The Cloister will be a turning point for the town, Cllr Antoinette Baker Bashua (FF) predicted, “We’ve ended up with a phenomenal building, it will be one of the things that we remember in future history that this made Ennis town, it was a building that needed a lot of work and there was no possibility that one investor would put that into it”. She asked that women’s groups who may use the building for meetings also be allowed avail of storage. She encouraged the Council to go back for more THRIVE funding with future projects.
Mayor of Clare, Cllr Paul Murphy (FG) commented, “I look forward to seeing this come to fruition. It will be a great community space to compliment the Friary, it is enhancing the town on top of the pedestrianisation”. Cllr Clare Colleran Molloy (FF) labelled it as “a wonderful opportunity for Ennis”.
“We talk about keeping tourists in the town for longer, the Friary is a beautiful centre but it is a very short journey so if we can extend that journey and keep the tourists in Ennis for longer then it would be a fantastic gift for the town,” remarked Cllr Tommy Guilfoyle (SF).
Linkage “the heritage with a critical piece of infrastructure in the town in the context of O’Connell Street and what is going on” was hailed as an important aspect by Jason Murphy, Director of Service Planning, Economic, Rural and Community Development. He said the team have involved are working with traders in Abbey Street.
Director of Service for Tourism, Recreation, Libraries and Cultural Services, Siobhán McNulty in a statement outlined, “The new updated planning application for The Cloister reflects the Council’s commitment to strengthening the visitor experience in Ennis, providing accessible, multipurpose spaces for the community and continuing our ongoing commitment to supporting local businesses. By creating a tourism attractor based on Ennis Friary and providing high-quality exhibition, community and education space in the town centre, the THRIVE Project will encourage more footfall, tourism and community activity in this area of the town centre”.
