Demolition starts on old Waterford Crystal buildings

Less than half a decade since it was one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country, the former Waterford Crystal factory is now being razed to the ground to make way for new beginnings.

The large chandeliers which could once be seen by passing cars on the Cork Road in Waterford city have long since been turned off and taken away.

The Waterford Crystal business went into receivership in 2009, but now the demolition crews have moved onto the factory buildings where the chandeliers and other world-famous pieces were made.

For hundreds of years crystal was made in Waterford and the business moved to the Cork Road premises in the 1960s, going on to become a “must-see” attraction for many years for coachloads of US and other tourists.

About 600 people worked on the site when it closed down in January of 2009, with a much-reduced workforce staying on when the new House of Waterford Crystal opened up back at The Mall the following year.

Now, developer Noel Frisby - who bought the 36-acre Cork Road site last year for an undisclosed sum - hopes hundreds more people will be back working there before long.

Mr Frisby is turning the site into an IT and office park which he believes will attract major employers into the area. “For far too long, the IDA are saying there’s no place for people to come in and locate in Waterford, so we’re providing that,” Mr Frisby said today.

The parts more familiar to tourists, such as the visitor centre and gift shop, are being gutted and renovated to allow the development of modern offices while the old manufacturing plant and warehouse, gone “beyond redemption”, are being demolished.

The site's location, adjacent to the busy Waterford Institute of Technology campus, may allow for link-ups with the college, particularly in the areas of IT and research, the developers hope. "It's a totally new start. From the ground up," he said.