Landmark venue in the Swords Cultural Quarter will bring a new county library, theatre, gallery, maker space, arts facilities and a café together beside Swords Castle.

Ten months after construction began, the €40m Culture House Fingal is taking shape and remains on course to open in 2027, according to Fingal County Council.

The flagship project will combine a library, theatre, gallery, maker space, arts spaces and a café within a striking building by award-winning architects O'Donnell and Twomey. It will form the centre-piece of the Swords Cultural Quarter.

Set beside Swords Castle in the heart of the North Dublin town, the four-storey, 5,683 sq m building is being delivered by Duggan Brothers, who are also constructing 36 new homes on Seatown Road opposite the site.

Councillors were briefed at the Council's June monthly meeting by County Architect Fionnuala May and Ciarán Ó Gaora of Zero-G on the vision behind creating a Culture House for Fingal.

-- Advertisement --

"We want this to be a confident expression of the future, and we are seeing that come to pass," Ó Gaora told councillors. "This building reflects the history and it reflects the future."

He said Fingal was following a European tradition in which many cities have a Culture House, adding: "They understand that many different activities can exist under the one roof." He said the name Culture House, or Áras Cultúir, signals a welcoming, accessible place that everyone can understand.

"Ultimately this is about a meeting house for everyone, that's how we want to talk about it. It's an everyday open house, it is not some ivory tower," said Ó Gaora.

"In Fingal, culture is all around us, every day, everywhere. It's what's brings us together. It's what makes us stand out. Because in Fingal we have a culture of learning and playing. A culture of imagination and wonder. A culture of making and doing, of being and belonging."

The official launch of Culture House Fingal will take place on Culture Night, Friday, September 19, featuring the latest updates on plans from the Arts Office and Library Service.

The Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Tom O'Leary, said: "Culture House will be a beacon for everybody in the county. It will provide the community with a state-of-the-art county library and archive, a theatre and a gallery space all under the one roof in the centre in Swords, the county's capital town."

The Chief Executive of Fingal County Council, AnnMarie Farrelly, said: "The construction of Culture House Fingal in Swords is a major flagship project for Fingal County Council which the majority of the funding coming from our own reserves in addition to a grant of €3m from the Department of Rural and Community Development. It will be a key building within the Swords Cultural Quarter. The project is progressing well so we are now beginning to focus on how it will operate and how it can be a facility enjoyed by everybody in Fingal."