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Carnegie Library was originally funded by the Carnegie Trust set up by Luke Carnegie. He had decided to set up a series of libraries one of which was to be in County Limerick. Above the doorway is a clock and also an inscription with the date 1916- the year the library was built. The library was multi-functional and held concerts, dances, plays and even court. In fact the first Sinn Fein court was held here and continued to be until such time as the organisation was banned by the authorities and more discretion was called for. In 1935 the library took on a new role when a secondary school was set up by a man named O' Dwyer. Pupils came from both the town and the surrounding areas but initially numbers were small as a result of a fee of 4 guineas a term. It is said that the principal and proprietor of the day, Jim Breen, was a very lenient man and in many cases the fees were either paid in part or not at all! In June 1992 the school closed it's doors for the last time and moved to a new premises located at Boherbui. The original building, today has both a new function and a new importance for the town in it's role as a thriving commercial centre, with businesses such as a mobile phone shop, a dentist, an Italian restaurant, a flower shop, an auctioneers and recently the Mid-Western Health board have moved their offices to here. |
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