Drumcondra locals call on church to save parish hall

Drumcondra locals held a protest outside the Archbishop’s Place on Drumcondra Road last Thursday urging the church to keep the Corpus Christi parish hall open and available for use for the local community.

The Corpus Christi parish hall on Home Farm Road is the only community centre in the area and has been used by locals for more than 60 years.

However, the hall closed last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic and apart from the Montessori school, local groups were not permitted to return to the centre when restrictions were lifted.

The Montessori Children’s Academy, which has been operating from the hall for 28 years, will also have to leave the premises soon after losing a court action.

A statement issued by the archdiocese on behalf of Corpus Christi parish said the hall was being closed due to fire safety concerns.

“The property was reviewed on behalf of the parish by two separate fire safety experts who found that the property presented a fire safety risk and was unsuitable for childcare,” it said.

However, residents say that they have been stonewalled by the parish when offering to pay for the costs of the repairs and fear that the church is planning on selling the centre.

“The Montessori owner in a letter to all parents explained that they had offered to pay for remediation works to the hall upon being originally asked to leave over a year ago,” says local resident and campaigner Angela Shafer.

“The Montessori school had an independent safety assessment carried out and any works were deemed mainly along the lines of routine maintenance,” she told Northside People.

“No separate fire safety report has ever been produced by the Church.  The Court has ruled that the Montessori school must vacate the premises by the end of the current school term.”

Shafer says that a local group are calling on the parish to reopen the hall and make it available again to the local community.

“Around 40 children will lose Montessori and afterschool places in what was a wonderful neighborhood location beside Corpus Christi GNS.

“We still don’t know what the plans are for the hall and the church is not engaging with the community on this matter.

“All other voluntary services that ran out of the hall have not been allowed back, activities such as breastfeeding supports, mother and toddler groups, irish dancing, meals on wheels, ballet, positive aging etc,” she says.

Labour Senator Marie Sherlock, who was present at last week’s protest and public meeting said that the hall must be protected.

“There was a very clear message from the public meeting – the parish hall is a vital community amenity and it must not be lost,” she says.

“Last night, we had groups who have used the hall for many years tell us how they have been “stonewalled” by church representatives on the future use of the hall.

“The hall has been a hive of activity in the local community for almost six decades and it would be a huge loss to the local community if local fears prove true and the hall is sold off by Church authorities.”

Sherlock says that the parish making this decision in the middle of the school year is a “dreadful development” and is asking the parish church to allow the Montessori service to operate from the hall until at least next June.

“The closure of Montessori and afterschool is only one of many groups we heard from,” she says.

“We also heard from McCluskey’s Irish dancing who have used the hall for 43 years and Drumcondra Ladies Club who have continuously used the hall for then past 52 years.

“Representatives from the Drumcondra Triangle Residents Association (DTRA) and Griffith Avenue and District Residents Association (GADRA) also highlighted their deep-seated concerns.”

The owners of the Montessori and afterschool, who were engaged in a legal battle to remain in the hall, also shared the bill of works that church authorities are claiming is required and which was presented in court.

Senator Sherlock said that the “the detail contained within that bill of works was a damning contradiction that the hall is closed because of a fire safety risk.”