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Kerry County Council is negotiating with the HSE over lands at the former St Finan’s mental hospital in Killarney which some locals believe should be used as a site for a third-level tourism college and training hotel.
The council has expressed “a strategic interest” in acquiring “surplus land” at the 30-acre site but it has not given any commitment regarding the protected grey limestone Victorian hospital building.
St Finan’s is one of 15 HSE buildings currently vacant in the old health board region of Cork and Kerry and the health authority has said these will be disposed of to the private sector if no State agency agrees to take it over.
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Cllr Michael Cahill (Fianna Fáil) said St Finan’s should be considered as a location for tourism training college for the town while Emer Moynihan, a hotelier and president of the Soroptomist women’s group, said a tourism college would help to establish and root a year-round industry in Killarney.
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The shortage of chefs in Kerry was last year deemed so severe that the county council discussed calling on the the Department of Tourism to intervene.
Variety of uses
Cllr Michael Gleeson (Independent Alliance) said the St Finian’s building, which once housed 1,000 patients and staff, should be looked at for a variety of uses .
“Since 1852, St Finan’s played an economic role in Killarney and now before it’s too late a new and vibrant role should be found for it,” he said
Mr Gleeson said he would support the call for the use of St Finian’s as a centre of excellence for the hotel and catering industry also. “I do not want to see St Finan’s end up in private hands,” he said.
He also suggested the building could be subdivided for apartments for single people, for elderly people wishing to move into town, or for use as a day centre for Alzheimer’s patients.
“There are very few who would wish to see the building transferred to private ownership,” Cllr Gleeson said.
The St Finian’s building has been assessed by the National Trust, An Taisce as “the most architecturally distinguished of the 19th century Irish mental hospitals to the design of Sir Thomas Deane”. The group has called for it to be put to use to prevent further any further deterioration.