The County Hall () is a 17-storey office block, owned by

Cork County Council Cork County Council () is the local authority of County Cork, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001, as amended. The council is responsible for housing and community, roads and transportation, urban pl ...

and housing its administrative headquarters. The building is located on Carrigrohane Road in the City of

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

. Although the building is owned by Cork County Council, it is located in a separate administrative area from the County - Cork City. At tall, the building was the tallest storied building in the country upon completion. However, it has since been surpassed by three other buildings. It is now a protected building.

History

Originally meetings of

had been held in the back portion of the top floor of Cork Courthouse. By the 1950s these premises were becoming inadequate and work on a new purpose-built building, designed by Patrick McSweeney, the then Cork County Architect, started in 1965. It was officially opened in April 1968.

Oisín Kelly Oisín Kelly (17 May 1915 – 12 October 1981) was an Irish sculptor. Life and career Oisín Kelly was born as Austin Kelly in Dublin, the son of William (Willy) Kelly, principal of the James Street National School, and his wife, Elizabeth ( ...

's statue, ''

Two Working Men ''Two Working Men'' () are a pair of statues made by the Irish sculptor Oisín Kelly. The piece took Kelly three years to create and was unveiled in front of the County Hall in Cork in 1969. As with other works of public art in the region, the ...

'', stands outside the complex.

Redevelopment

A redevelopment project began in 2002 to re-clad the existing building, add a new storey to the tower block and build a six-storey extension to the side of the tower. The original distinctive

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...

facade had been severely eroded and it was decided to replace rather than repair this as part of an expansion scheme. A louvered glass cladding replaced the original concrete, and the six-storey extension at ground level was completed in June 2006, as well as a new concourse and council chamber. The redevelopment cost €50 million.

References

External links

Cork County Hall – Council website
(archived) {{DEFAULTSORT:County Hall, Cork Cork County Council Buildings and structures in Cork (city) Skyscraper office buildings in the Republic of Ireland Government buildings completed in 1968

Office buildings in the Republic of Ireland Skyscrapers in the Republic of Ireland 20th-century architecture in the Republic of Ireland Brutalist architecture in Ireland