New proposal revealed for International Rugby Experience building in Limerick
State considers gift from JP McManus to open women’s museum in landmark O'Connell Street premises
LIMERICK'S JP McManus has made a fresh offer of his International Rugby Experience (IRE) building in the city centre - this time to the State.
Government is this Tuesday morning weighing up the offer from the Martinstown businessman, with Limerick TD and Minister for Culture Patrick O'Donovan raising the issue with cabinet.
Under the proposal, the landmark, six-storey building at O'Connell Street could become a new branch of the National Museum of Ireland, which will house a women's museum.
The plan has been welcomed by metropolitan district leader, Cllr Daniel Butler, who said: "A national cultural institution on O’Connell Street would drive footfall, confidence and long-term regeneration."
The IRE has been out-of-use since Christmas 2024 after a proposed transfer to Limerick City and County Council fell apart.
The €30m attraction's visitor numbers never reached its annual projections, with the project recording a loss of more than €1m in its final year of operation.
Prior to its closure, Mr McManus had offered the building to the local authority alongside a once-off payment of €1.2m to cover its projected losses until when the Ryder Cup took place in Limerick next year.
But in what was a controversial move at the time, the council decided, after due diligence, against accepting this gift.
They concluded it would be a long-term financial liability rather than a viable public asset, with consultants commissioned by Mayor John Moran estimating it would need to atttract more than 70,000 visitors a year to break even.
However, the decision split the council, and Mr McManus later attended a behind-closed doors meeting to argue the case for the local authority accepting the gift.
Sources present at that meeting suggested the businessman said he would step away from further talks with the local authority on the donation, saying the process had left him "mystified" and "disheartened".
But in this latest proposal, the key sponsor of Limerick GAA will hand the building over to the State to open a museum dedicated to women.
This is in line with one of the recommendations of a report of the Advisory Committee on Women’s Stories, which was adopted by Government in December.
It recommended a “permanent, dedicated physical museum, to give visibility, legitimacy and recognition to women’s representation, experiences and voices, in all their diversity”.
Mr O'Donovan said he would like to begin a detailed consultation process with the National Museum of Ireland, the Office of Public Works, the McManus foundation, and the Department of Public Expenditure, “with a view to acquiring the property”.
Cllr Butler praised his party colleague, for "demonstrating the political leadership required to move this forward".
"It is regrettable that this level of leadership and coordinated effort was absent during the earlier difficulties surrounding the project and the treatment of the McManus family. I want to thank them and acknowledge their generosity in continuing with this despite their treatment. Situations like that required steady, solution-focused leadership and it was lacking. We now have an opportunity to reset, work together and ensure this important city centre asset delivers for Limerick’s future," the City West councillor added.
The IRE opened in a blaze of glory in May 2023, with a large number of international and former rugby players in attendance.
In that number was former Munster, Ireland and Lions captain Paul O'Connell, who chaired a group which led the project from its inception.
The focus now shifts to Cabinet to see if they will move forward on Mr McManus's offer.