Long-awaited e-hub to transform Limerick town
REMOTE working is set to become even easier in Limerick as the ENGINE network of e-hubs continues to expand.
Designed to enable remote working and support rural communities, the existing hubs, in Limerick city centre, Newcastle West, Croom and Kilfinane have received a boost of €230,000 to improve their facilities.
But, fast on the heels of this investment, comes confirmation that Abbeyfeale’s long-awaited e-hub will open for business next month.
And according to Innovate Limerick’s Mike Cantwell, which is spearheading the ENGINE hub project, more locations will be added in the coming year.
The Abbeyfeale e-hub will be located in what is known locally as the “red bank” on the town’s Main Street.
The plan to transform it into an e-hub were first mooted in 2016 but took practical shape in April 2019 when Innovate Limerick bought the building.
The building is expected to accommodate individual offices as well as a hot-desking facility, meeting rooms and a coffee dock.
Welcoming the announcement that the e-hub is scheduled to open next month, Maurice O’Connell, chairman of the local Community Council said: “We are absolutely delighted that after years of work, the e-hub is coming close to opening. It will be very much supported in the town and we are very much looking forward to it.”
The e-hub will provide a facility to individual business people as well as companies and start-ups operating locally and will be part of the ENGINE network.
Meanwhile, the Abbeyfeale community is waiting for equipment to be installed in St Ita’s Hall, which has been designated as the Broadband Connection Point (BCP) for Abbeyfeale.
It is part of a national €8.8m programme run by the Department of Rural and Community Development. The aim is provide an increased number of families and individuals with the option to live and work in rural communities.
Both these developments as well as the awaited multi-million euro traffic management plan for the town are significant investments in Abbeyfeale and will provide a significant boost, Mr O’Connell said.
His hope is that they will kickstart further, future investment, particularly in the vacant old convent building. The community council had, some years ago, master-minded a €3.5m plan to transform it into a Technology and Enterprise Hub which would accommodate as many as 100 high-end jobs.
The building was then acquired by the Limerick Clare Education Training Board but was more recently the subject of a dereliction notice by Limerick City and County Council.
The building has been up for sale for the past number of months and according to Mr O’Connell there are “a few really interested parties looking very closely at it”.
“We would be hopeful somebody with an interest in the town will come out of the woodwork and invest in that site,” Mr O’Connell said. “I would hope that Limerick City and County Council and other agencies would support its development. It is a significant building, a prominent building with a lot of history and goodwill attached to it.”