Former Tipp factory - owned by founder of Supermacs Pat MacDonagh- singled out as eyesore

The dilapidated remains of the once thriving Offray ribbon factory in Ashbury in Roscrea is an eyesore which needs to be addressed, the monthly meeting of the Municipal Council for the Roscrea area heard on Monday.

The former industrial powerhouse of Roscrea closed in 1999 with the loss of 140 jobs and despite numerous attempts to find a new tenant or group interested in rejuvenating the building, it has slipped into serious disrepair.

The building is owned by founder of Supermacs, Galway's Pat MacDonagh, who in 2015 offered to donate part of the large former industrial building to the then newly formed Roscrea Stands Up group to potentially create a social amenity area.

That imaginative idea never transpired and now local Councillors say it is a blight on the hard work of local groups such as Roscrea Tidy Towns and unfair on residents in the Ashbury area.

This issue was raised by local Councillor Shane Lee, who said the building has become a magnet for anti-social behaviour and the grounds are unkempt and overgrown.

“We need to put pressure on the owner, who is a multi-millionaire and owns buildings all over the country”, Cllr. Lee said.
Cathaoirleach of the Municipal Council, Michael Smith, agreed and urged the local authority to arrange a meeting with the owner.

“It is a sizeable site on the way down to the hurling field in a residential area and has been left vacant for a number of years”, the Cathoirleach said.

The meeting heard from staff from the Council's planning and environment departments, who said the local authority is currently putting together a team focused on vacancy and dereliction, which will be supported by two clerical officers and a member of the Council executive.

The said they will meet with any developers or landowners, aimed at reawakening older buildings and returning them to use.
The meeting heard details of the Urban Regeneration and Development (URDF) fund, where derelict and vacant buildings will be identified as suitable to return to functionality.

The fund will be replenished by the sale of those restored buildings and local authority members can highlight particular buildings which they feel might be suitable and several buildings in the region have already been identified to commence the new system.

Ard Érin Roscrea

Councillor Lee said he also wanted to recognise a positive story in terms of dereliction and restoration and referenced a landmark residence in Roscrea which was abandoned and left to fall into disrepair for over two decades and caused great upset for residents in the area.

Ard Erin House on Roscrea's Old Dublin Road is steeped in history and has a commanding presence over the town's busiest approach road.

Once the home of Thomas Dooly, Clerk of the Union and whose wife was fatally shot during the Civil War in August 1923, the house was boarded up since 2009 and is now undergoing a complete renovation.

The landmark building was purchased and will be restored by local company, Ashbourne Meats and Cllr Lee told the meeting residents in the area are very pleased to see the important building return to use.

The Old Dublin Road has received much attention from the local Tidy Towns group and residents spend their money and time maintaining the neighbourhood to a very high standard, he said.