Foundation stone laid for new Cultural Centre in Swords

The foundation stone for the new Cultural Centre within the Swords Cultural Quarter was laid today by the Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Brian McDonagh, and the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien.

The multi-purpose Cultural Centre will contain a new County Library and a 165 seat theatre along with an art gallery, arts spaces, a maker space and a café. Significant upgrade works will be carried out on North Street to create an enhanced public realm creating a link between the Cultural Centre and Swords Castle.

Enabling works, which began on site in April 2023, concluded in  July and the building contractor, Duggan Brothers (Contractors) Ltd, moved in last August. The Cultural Centre is scheduled to open in the first half of 2027. Duggan Brothers will also construct 36 new homes on Seatown Road as part of the overall development.

The Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Brian McDonagh, said: “This is another important milestone in the journey towards providing a cultural centre, based in our county town, that will be for all the people of Fingal. It is one of the major pieces of community infrastructure within Fingal County Council’s Capital Programme and will help to cater for our growing population.”

Minister Darragh O’Brien said: “This is a very significant day for our county town. Our county town is crucially important and it is one that we are all very proud of. It is great to see the construction of the new Cultural Centre get underway and its library, theatre, gallery and arts spaces will create a vibrant area in the centre of the town. The provision of community infrastructure alongside housing is very important and this building, when it is eventually opened in 2027, will serve not just the people of Swords but also those who live in other parts of Fingal.”

The Council received a grant of €3m towards the new County Library from the Department of Rural and Community Development and will meet the balance of the costs of the Cultural Centre from its own resources.

The Chief Executive of Fingal County Council, AnnMarie Farrelly, said: “The overall project, which includes the Cultural Centre, housing development, and public realm improvements will cost in excess of €60m and I would like to acknowledge the financial support of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the Department of Rural and Community Affairs towards the overall project.  This project has been supported by our councillors from the very beginning and will be a cultural centre for everybody in Fingal. It is one of 111 projects in our Capital Programme that are currently on site and, once again, shows our commitment to delivering community infrastructure for our citizens.”  

The Swords Cultural Centre has been designed by award-winning architects O’Donnell and Tuomey. Their previous work includes the Central European University in Budapest,  the Glucksman Gallery at University College Cork and the Lyric Theatre in Belfast.

The Swords Cultural Quarter project is one of 16 contained in the Sustainable Swords Strategy which is a key part of Fingal County Council’s plan to ensure that, as Swords continues to expand, the town grows sustainably and provides a quality of life befitting the county’s capital. 

For more information on the Swords Cultural Quarter project go to www.fingal.ie/swordsculturalquarter