Kilkee Library to reopen after €1.6m refurbishment

Following a €1.6m refurbishment, The Sweeney Memorial Public Library in Kilkee will re-open on Monday at 6pm. The official opening will be performed by Minister for Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht Affairs, Jimmy Deenihan.
The library building dates to the 1950s and was designed to provide multipurpose functions including library, theatre, cinema and dance-hall.
The existing building is approximately 415m2 (4,465 square feet) and the revised layout will provide approximately 682m2 (7,340 square feet), of which 492m2 will be at ground floor and 190m2 at first-floor level. The theatre and foyer/gallery facilities have been designed to accommodate approximately 130 people.
In 2010, Clare County Council awarded a €1m contract to L&M Keating Ltd, Kilmihil, to carry out a refurbishment and extension to the library in Kilkee.
Additional work brought the work to €1.6m. The proposed scheme comprises additional library space, theatre and exhibition space, and multifunction spaces.
At the July 2010 meeting of Kilrush Electoral Area county councillors, director of services, Nora Kaye, acknowledged that the refurbishment work was behind schedule even at that stage.
At the March 2010 meeting of the local area councillors, county librarian Helen Walsh predicted the new library would be open in the first half of 2011. In May 2011 it was reported that the library refurbishment work would be completed by the end of 2011.