Reporter Colum Coomey witnesses major transformation of SCRd college
From 300 students in 1992 to 3,000 in 2010
STUDENTS returning to Mary Immaculate College this month will not recognise their new campus, according to college president, Professor Peadar Cremin.
“Our new Tara building doubles the previous capacity of the college with 8,500 square metres of additional space. The centre of activity has moved from our older buildings”.
There is a since of achievement attached to the €17million latest amenity for Peadar, now 10 years at the helm.
“The library was built in 1979 and it was the last to be completed before the Tailteann building in 2007.
“Any time that we needed more space in the past 40 years we were given portacabins. We must have the largest selection of portacabins in the country.
“The new building highlights the parts of the accumulation of prefabs and the part of the college that were poor”.
The 8348 sq.m four storey building contains a 500 seat auditorium, four large lecture theatres, a simulated classroom, microteaching rooms, meeting rooms, teaching labs, computer labs, seminar rooms, a meditation room, counselling rooms, students’ union facilities and an enormous student forum.
When asked if he felt that they were lucky to have the project completed before the construction tide had turned, he gave a frank response.
“Two years ago we were told that this project was not going ahead so we are very pleased. It was only following a direct plea with the Minister that we got this back on track. After consideration Batt O’Keeffe announced that the €17 million project would be completed”.
However, he has now witnessed the devastating impact of the recession first hand.
“Sadly, we have seen our builders McNamara Construction and architects Murray O’Laoire go out of business. This building and the Tailteann building are monuments to Murray O’Laoire in Limerick”.
A new library is now the number one priority.
“We have the same library as we had in 1992 when we had just 300 students, now we have 3,000 students”.
He emphasised that the new dimension of the campus shows that there is more to Mary I than powerful Christian architecture.
“When you see the entrance to the college on South Circular Road, many are unaware that we have 25 acres of parkland. The new buildings stretch through this and play up the beauty of the campus”.
The jewel is the stunning state of the art 500 seater theatre.
“Prior to this we had an auditorium which couldn’t accommodate an entire year group.
“We have a new city centre theatre which will be larger than the Belltable and not as big as UCH.
“We have already had many expressions of interests for shows, including a pantomime at Christmas”.
Fundraising still needs to be done to finance the uplift of the space from a 500 seater classroom to a theatre and which will cost over €1million.
Sponsorship is now being sought for the seats.
“Interestingly, the first response we had came from a man from Florida who wants the first seat to be dedicated to the memory of Limerick-born Catherine Hayes (1818-1861) Ireland’s first operatic diva.
