Good Things are Happening at the Old Schoolhouse!
The Old Schoolhouse CLICK HERE
As many Grange parishioners and others may be aware, Limerick City and County Council has a contractor on site at present at the old schoolhouse, carrying out alterations and improvements. Already, the dividing wall between the two inner large rooms (former classrooms of the original school - 1867, before the two end rooms were added in the early 1930s) has been removed, leaving a single and much larger room with six windows, ideal for good numbers of people coming together for various purposes. This room has great potential. A modern sliding divider (floor to ceiling) will be fitted, thus permitting the new large room to be divided into two rooms, as may suit some future events at the old schoolhouse from time to time. This will offer great flexibility in the use of the floor space. The current contract provides for a new timber floor (boards) to be laid in this large room, as well as new skirting boards. In addition, the contract provides for the construction of a secure housing for the community defibrillator in the car park - this work has commenced. I will update you in due course with firm plans to launch our community defibrillation service. It is expected that all of these contracted works will be concluded in the near future. Limerick City and County Council is to be commended and thanked for the current investment in our community facility and, indeed, for previous significant investments, including re-wiring (electrical), new toilets and the installation of a modern sewage system at the rear of the building. Additionally, external lighting and building security has been installed. All of this investment by the local authority coupled with considerable direct investment by our community (e.g. car-park and landscaping) adds up to significant expenditure to date. However, Grange Cross Residents Association acknowledges that much more investment will be required in order to bring the old schoolhouse to the stage where it can be regarded as a facility fit-for-purpose as a community centre - a venue that will be safe and comfortable, finished and decorated to a decent standard. It is for this reason that GCRA recently developed a discussion document for consideration with Limerick City and County Council officials. The document identifies many of the further improvements that are considered essential. There may be other desirable enhancements which are not listed - if so, these will be identified over time. The document has been provided to the council, and it is hoped that it will be the subject of early discussions with council officials, leading to further improvements at the old schoolhouse in due course. I am pleased to share the discussion document with you, CLICK HERE to read it. Should you have any observations, please feel free to contact me or any officer of the GCRA management committee - we will, of course, be delighted to hear your views/ideas. I will inform you about further developments in due course. In the meantime, many thanks for your support for our Organisation - financial and otherwise. Your generosity and encouragement is much appreciated.
Kind regards to all. Kieran Hourigan,
Chairman,
Grange Cross Residents Association
(on behalf of the Management Committee of GCRA)
#SchoolhouseRenovations #Improvementstooldschoolhouse #GCRA #LimerickCityandCountyCouncil
