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PB October/November 2023 October/November 2023 23
C
harleville, County Cork, is in the
Golden Vale near the border with
Limerick. Founded in 1661, the
town has a population of 3,919
while a further 6,080 live within a
radius of 3km. A famous cheese takes its
name after the town and Golden Vale its
largest employer. Charleville has only one
public green space, a town park which is
about six acres. The rest of the green spaces
belong to sporting clubs or schools which are
NEWS
Naming names in dereliction-
blighted Charleville
By Evelyn O’Keeffe
not open to the general public.
Charleville also has a high rate of dereliction
and vacancy. September’s CSO Census data
showed 178 dwellings lay idle in Charleville.
That is just shy of 10% of the town’s housing
stock, eating away at the urban fabric that
surrounds it, wasting existing vital resources.
In a housing crisis.
Locals complain that the children in
Charleville walk up Smith’s Lane and Baker’s
Lane daily, on their way to six di erent local
schools, surrounded by long term vacant
buildings. These lanes were once vibrant
streets but they are the areas worst a ected
by this urban blight.
Below are images of just some of
Charleville’s vacant buildings.
Moatville house is a fi ne three-bay, three-
storey house with traceried and small-pane
windows, which was built around 1730
surrounded by a walled garden and estate.
Roger Boyle, the infamous Lord Broghill, had
built a house there 70 years previously, and
having been elevated to the status of Lord
President of Munster by King Charles II of
England, decided to name the town he built,
‘Charlesville’ in his honour. The middle ‘s’ was
Motville house in its hydy (left), nd now (right) left
empty nd bndoned in the hnds of the Kerry Group
Vcnt buildiings bound in Chrleville
Derelict former-bkery site (bove) nd djoining
house (below) ner primry school on Smiths Lne
The old town bll lley needed steel reinforcement to ensure stbility
24 October/November 2023 October/November 2023 25
later dropped. The original house was burnt
during the Williamite wars and Moatville was
probably constructed by Robert Bruce, who
fought at the American Revolutionary battle
of Bunker Hill. It was lived in by Bishop William
Reeves of Down, Connor and Dromore but has
been left vacant and abandoned since
purchased by Kerry Foods Ltd. Talks to gift it
back to the people of Charleville have not
proceeded. It is now left open to the elements.
In February 2023, Tourism Development
International (TDI) appointed by Ballyhoura
Development CLG and Kerry Group PLC to
prepare a feasibility study and development
plan for Moatville House and Gardens.
The vacant buildings and derelict/
abandoned sites next to the primary schools
on Smith’s Lane are owned by businessman
John Keating of Kanturk. Two of his buildings
on that street were demolished last year due
to parts of the building tumbling to the
ground, after years of neglect. It caused trac
chaos in October 2022 as the street had to be
closed for two weeks while the buildings were
demolished. He still owns three lots on Smiths
Lane, all vacant and abandoned for years.
The next two vacant buildings comprise an
old town ball alley purchased by businessman
Michael McCormack of Foxhall, County
Limerick and an adjacent house which features
large cracks.
Directly across the street from the primary
schools on Smith’s Lane, is a row of vacant
cottages and buildings. The first cottage is
owned by Martha Noonan, Kippane,
Charleville. The roof tiles of this property are
loose and dangerous and are a potential
safety risk to the public.
The last known residents of this vacant
cottage were the Malone family. Abandoned
for years, it is open to the elements.
These vacant buildings on Smith’s Lane
comprise an abandoned old mill, house, and
large rear yard. It is owned by businessman
and local Charleville-based detective Liam
Ruddle of Ardagh, County Limerick. Near the
CBS schools on Baker’s Lane is a former coal-
yard premises which local Fianna Fáil
The first cottge is owned by Mrth Noonn, Kippne, Chrleville
The lst known residents of this vcnt cottge ws the Mlone fmily Abndoned for yers
Former John Lne nd Sons bed-mnufcturing unit
Buildings left empty for mny yers
24 October/November 2023 October/November 2023 25
Councillor Ian Doyle has leased from
freeholder Victor Nugent of Ballyhea for many
years. It served as the town’s potato market in
the mid-1800s, but now too is open to the
elements.
Backing on to the rear of the Broadstreet
coal yard on Baker’s Lane is the former John
Lane & Sons bed-manufacturing unit, which
in the 19th Century was the site of a tannery
and a leather and harness-making business.
It includes derelict dwellings, a car repair
garage, a lean-to warehouse extension and
ancillary buildings.
In 2018, Corajio ULC, a Dublin based retail
company which trades as Mr. Price, received
planning permission to change the use to a
retail complex with 35 carpark spaces and a
new landscaped plaza. Nothing proceeded.
A recent leaflet from local Fianna Fáil TD
Michael Moynihan announced grant funding
of €5.2 million, which will see the renovation
of a number of vacant and derelict buildings
in the heart of the town. Charleville courthouse
will be renovated into a remote working hub
and a currently vacant heritage building on
Chapel Street will be converted into a new arts
and community centre. In addition, an old HSE
building in the town will be converted into the
new home of the men’s shed and the local
snooker club.
The grant is a positive step forward that will
go some way to revitalising and re-energising
the town, but it is just a start. There remain
many other vacant and derelict buildings
spread throughout Charleville that require
immediate attention. These derelict sites and
buildings could be much-needed homes,
community spaces or parking spaces. Instead,
they are nothing more than waste grounds,
enshrining neglect in our built environment as
normal, in the young minds of future
generations. One can only imagine if all these
dwellings and sites were put back into use,
what a dierence it would make to this town.
Empty nd vcnt but not yet derelict, commercil buildings in Chrleville
