Building sale tees up ‘David v Goliath’ battle between Limerick community and church

LOCALS in Newcastle West are preparing for what they describe as a “David v Goliath” battle with their parish church as they seek to challenge the sale of a century-old community hall.

An action group has been established and almost €5,000 has been raised for a legal fund as residents consult solicitors in a bid to keep Áras na Gaeilge in community use.

The building was sold in May and the group is now considering legal action to challenge the transaction.

However, sources within the church maintain that the property deeds are in the parish’s name and that the parish is entitled to decide the building’s future.

The dispute centres on the historical ownership of the property and how it came to be registered in the name of the diocesan trust. The building, which has been purchased by a local businessman, was last in use in 2021. It is currently being used for storage.

Local auctioneer Patrick O’Donovan, a member of the group, said it had repeatedly sought documentation establishing how the church acquired ownership of the property, but he says they have not received documentation that they consider sufficient.

“Our main question still remains: how did they acquire ownership of the property in the first place? We have asked this of the bishop, priest and solicitors and we’ve not heard anything. They said they got it from Micheal Dore in 1948. We have asked for proof of that and have never received it,” he said.

“They have never produced any documentation as to how they have come into ownership of it.”

Church sources have indicated that ownership was held by priest trustees from the late 1940s.

Mr O’Donovan disputes this account, referring to a transfer of the property from Fr Michael Kelly to Fr Jeremiah Newman on April 14, 1970, which he said had taken place without the community’s knowledge.

Fr Newman, who died in 1995, became Bishop of Limerick in 1974.

Mr O’Donovan said the communityfelt “snubbed” by the sale and said the group held records which he believed showed that priests paid a voluntary committee for the use of the complex.

The hall was registered in the name of St Ita’s Limerick Diocesan Parishes Trust, a company linked to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Limerick, in April 2025, according to the action group.

The complex was sold 13 months later, in May this year. According to church sources the building “is registered with the Registry of Deeds”.

“This was confirmed to a legal representative on behalf of the action group prior to the sale of the property,” the source added.

But the group is now seeking to challenge the sale, although legal proceedings have not been confirmed as having commenced. “It wasn’t announced they were going to sell it. There was no consultation,” Mr O’Donovan added.

Located on St Ita’s Street, Áras na Gaeilge was opened on St Patrick’s Day 1926 by the Gaelic League (Conradh na Gaeilge).

Over the decades, the hall has hosted communions, confirmations, céilí, dances and art sales, as well as at least two weddings. It is home to a stage, with seating for an audience of 150 people.

The action group said the church sent legal correspondence in 2021 to the committee that ran the hall for a number of years, claiming the building was owned by the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Newcastle West.

Members said they were subsequently informed during a Mass earlier this year that the building had been sold.

With the hall marking its centenary, locals might have expected to be celebrating its history. Instead, the community is embroiled in a dispute over its future.

Mr O’Donovan said he had hoped the anniversary would provide an opportunity to recognise the people who established the hall.

“It was the first hall in the town. I have the actual minute book from 1924 and 1925. I’m a bit of a historian and I was expecting, without being involved in anything, there would be a commemoration of the ordinary people who set this place up,” he said.

Mike MacDomhnaill, the current chairman of the Conradh na Gaeilge Newcastle West branch, said the group believed it had little option but to go legal with the matter.

“We have consulted solicitors and barristers. It’s with the barrister at the moment and the advice is to take legal proceedings against the church,” he said.

If the hall were returned to community use, honorary secretary Shirley O’Regan said it could become a centre for older people, with a café and afternoon tea dances among the possibilities.

Meals on Wheels was previously operated from Áras na Gaeilge, but the building is currently used only for storage.

Ms O’Regan said the minute book recorded the ambitions of the hall’s founders, who had made significant personal commitments to establish the facility.

“This was a legacy they were leaving. Thirteen members of the original committee went as guarantors on a £500 loan, which was a huge amount of money at the time when people had nothing,” she said.

“It was a huge responsibility for them to take and it’s terrible they have been discarded in this way.”

Mr O’Donovan said numerous community groups had sought to use the hall over the past five years, but their requests had been refused.

Mr MacDomhnaill said some people had been reluctant to publicly support the campaign because they felt it could be seen as a challenge to their local church.

However, he said a public meeting organised by the action group, attended by 60 people, ended with a unanimous show of hands in favour of keeping the hall in community use.

Ms O’Regan said: “It is like David versus Goliath, but remember who won!”

The parish declined to comment.

In an earlier statement provided by the Diocese in July of this year, a parish spokesperson said: “There are two active community centres in Newcastle West parish - the Newcastle West Community Centre and the Desmond Complex - with modern facilities that cater for community needs previously looked after by the 100-year-old Áras na Gaeilge building.”

They added: “Over recent years Áras na Gaeilge has been used for storage of school tables and chairs. As it is no longer core to the mission of the parish, a decision was taken, with the support of the Parish Trust, to sell the property. The property has since been sold and the proceeds will support the ongoing needs of Newcastle West parish.”