Disappointment has been expressed by Independent Cllr Kieran McCarthy to this week’s news that the old HSE building in Lakesland Crescent off Avenue De Rennes, Mahon has not been deemed an accessible location for a potential Blackrock/ Mahon Library. Earlier this year, the ex-HSE building was identified as a potential site by the City Council.

    Cllr McCarthy noted: “The provision of a Library for the South East Ward, to serve the communities of Blackrock and Mahon, is one of the objectives of the current Libraries Development Programme. As a public rep who has been fielding questions and motions on this project for several years, I just feel now the campaign has gone back a number of steps; we had two potential sites, one at the old Abode site and one at Lakelands Crescent, but now we’re back to the drawing board looking for a location. It is crucial that a location is found and that the project is gotten back on track”.

   The City Librarian, Liam Ronayne, inspected the former HSE Health Centre Building at Lakelands Crescent and reviewed the potential of the location in view of the criteria listed above. He noted; “While the site in question has a generous amount of space, and is close to schools, it does not meet the criteria of being easily accessible from both parts of the peninsula, and of having a high profile on the street. I do not therefore believe that it would be a suitable location for a Library for the South East Ward. I accept that it will not be easy to find such a location, but I and my staff will be treating this as a priority in the months ahead”.