Business hub to rise from Cork school’s ashes

A historic former school in Cork is on track to be transformed into a business hub which will deliver jobs and revitalise a Gaeltacht area.

Work on the former Coláiste Iosagáin in Ballyvourney is due to be completed in early 2026, it was confirmed in the Dáil last month.

The school, built in the 1930s, closed in 1989, and there have been several failed attempts in the intervening decades to utilise it.

Now the iconic building, set on beautiful grounds, and recognisable to anyone that drives the old road between Cork and Killarney, is set for a new chapter.

Locals are delighted to see the site coming back to life in the €8million project, as the opening of this facility will bring employment and development to the Gaeltacht area.

When the business hub opens, it will benefit the local community, promote new business, and bring the Ballyvourney area into the forefront of innovative start-ups.

The recent opening of the new by between Macroom and Kerry has also relieved some of the traffic on the route running through the town.

Work began on the former Coláiste Iosagáin building in 2022, with initial funding to transform this derelict building in the Muscraí Gaeltacht into a modern campus.

Funding of €3.28m granted to Udarás Na Gaeltachta in May, 2024, and €2.7m from Enterprise Ireland and others will see the project through to completion.

Construction and redevelopment work will focus on both renovation and new build, ensuring the elements of the iconic building are preserved.

There are three phases to the project.

Phase one will see the centre of the building opened for companies, including GTEC and the offices of Udarás na Gaeltachta. Phases two and three will see the wings of the building developed.

“The by has made this area more accessible,” said local TD Aindreas Moynihan.

“The building of social homes, private estates and private dwellings in the last three years is keeping our community vibrant.

“The addition of this campus will offer employment to locals who wish to live and work in the Muscraí Gaeltacht.”

Mr Moynihan drafted a question for the Dáil floor on March 27 for the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Dara Calleary, TD, asking for an update on the project.

In response, the minister’s office said: “The Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (RRDF) is a capital investment fund that is key to the delivery of Ireland’s rural development policy. It provides funding for the development and construction of capital projects in towns and villages in rural areas across Ireland.

“This project, which has also secured a significant amount of funding through other sources, will repurpose a former residential school to provide a Regional Development Centre comprising of an enterprise development, training and research facility.

“Udarás na Gaeltachta has confirmed that work at the Coláiste Iosagáin site commenced in September, 2024, and has advised that the project remains on track for completion in early 2026.”

Built in two phases between 1933 and 1939, the college building has had many uses and holds many memories for both locals and those who spent time at the college.

It was built after Ireland got its independence, with the aim of educating people through the Irish language. This was part of the push to revive the Irish language and restore our heritage through education and sport.

Coláiste Íosagáin originally opened in 1940 as a preparatory college, run by the De la Salle brothers, with 53 students enrolled, and was named after a work by Irish revolutionary Patrick Pearse.

The school was a preparatory college, educating the finest teachers in the country. Coláiste Iosagáin provided Irish language teachers of the highest calibre for schools across the country in what was considered a cultural revival of the native language.

Former pupils included singer and schoolteacher Seán Ó Sé, and Peadar Ó Riada, son of Sean.

The building was used as a secondary school until its closure in 1989.

Initially, there had been plans to develop the site as either a hotel or a nursing home, but these did not materialise, and the building sat idle until it was bought by Udarás na Gaeltachta in 1998 for £215,000.

Plans for the college stalled on several occasions, including an attempt to bring the building back to life in 1999 as an all-Ireland education facility.