The Phantom of the Opera Centre

I was down at Ormston House in Patrick Street—the newest retail space hosting art as part of the Creative Limerick program—for an event with the artist, Brian O’Doherty, on Sunday. The talk was really interesting and the venue imposing, but when I left, I made the mistake of looking left down Patrick Street. It’s the Opera Centre, or rather the absence of it.

What should be there (had everything gone to plan) is a €350 million commercial development, the biggest shopping mecca in Munster. The mirage dispersed and what is left is boarded-up buildings because most of the street is derelict, apart from two businesses still bravely operating on the lower end. The project is stalled like many others in the country. I hate to say I told you so but I had an awful feeling that the Opera Centre wouldn’t be built. One of my first blog posts from 2009, ‘Opera Centre will not be done til the fat lady sings!’, actually spells this out.

Now, nearly three years on, the development is in the hands of NAMA. I think the chance of it becoming a reality (as per the plans anyway) is highly unlikely. The country has changed drastically and the city centre has a lot of vacant units as it is. I don’t think building a giant shopping centre is the answer to the city’s problems…nor was it ever.

Meanwhile, Dereliction Street is a massive problem. Not only does it look awful, to tourists particularly. But Post-Apocalyptic Street has rats like Graveyard Shift. The nightclub, Trinity Rooms, was forced to close with the loss of 50 jobs because of health and safety issues i.e. said vermin. The Limerick Leader also reported on a recent fire there and the risk of the entire block going up in flames is ever present. The protected pieces of the site—including the house which was the birthplace of famous Limerick opera singer, Catherine Hayes—are in danger of falling into a state that is beyond rescue.

So, the project is still in limbo and with the amount of projects under NAMA’s umbrella, there’s a good chance it will stay out in the rain for a while. There’s plenty of time then to work out a plan to revive Patrick Street. In the 2009 post I reprinted an article I wrote for the now defunct local paper, the Limerick Independent. In that, the councillor (and current mayor) Jim Long said the buildings that can be should be levelled and made into a car park temporarily while decisions are still being made about the site’s ultimate future. That still seems like a valid suggestion. The council could offer some incentives to get businesses to set up shop there again. The idea that the site should become a tax-designated area with Temple Bar in Dublin as a template (Limerick Post article) is also a good one.

Here’s hoping that 2012 will be the year that the curtain will fall on the Opera Centre saga. A proposed development site, potential wasted, falling apart while the powers that be stand there helplessly...that's an analogy for modern Ireland if ever there was one.