03-07-2025
Former John Barleycorn hotel site poised for a healthy makeover
THE long-vacant site of the former John Barleycorn Hotel, destroyed by fire in 2006, is set for redevelopment as a primary care centre.
Permission for the c 36,000sq ft (3,313sq m) one-stop healthcare hub in Riverstown, Glanmire, clears the way for productive use of the brownfield site, which has lain idle for almost 20 years.
Artist's impression of the proposed Valley Healthcare Primary Care Centre in Riverstown, Glanmire
The hotel, which began life as a coach stop in the 18th century, was repeatedly targeted by vandals and was demolished in 2008 to make way for a mixed-use development, including a foodstore, a 67-bed hotel, a gaelscoil, a leisure centre with a 25m swimming pool and substantial underground parking.
However, the proposal 'fell victim to the economic recession and was never built' — as per planning documents submitted by HW Planning on behalf of current developers Valley Healthcare Fund/Infrastructure Investment Fund, who have been given the go-ahead to build the new primary care centre.
The John Barleycorn in Rivestown on fire in August 2006. Picture: Jim Jamel
Valley Healthcare is also planning a €20m-plus 55,000sq ft primary care centre on the former Douglas Woollen Mills site, south of Cork City. The project was approved by Cork City Council, but appealed to An Coimisiún Pleanála, with a decision due in early August. The fund has a presence in Cork since 2018, when it opened a primary care centre in Midleton. It acquired two more the following year in Carrigtwohill and Fermoy. Last year, it opened another in Ballincollig, at the former Murphy Barracks site.
The Glanmire project was refused planning by Cork City Council in January on the grounds of flood risk — the Glashaboy River is nearby — but the planning board reversed the decision.
Aerial picture of the former John Barleycorn site
The 1ha site — part of a larger landholding of 2.25ha — is now set for redevelopment as a part two-storey/three-storey primary care centre, to include a retail unit and two GP practices. The land parcel is south of Old Court Rd and west of East Cliff Rd, where a Lidl supermarket and Sarsfield Hurling Club are located.
Peggy McTeggart receiving a guard of honour as she arrives at the John Barleycorn, Glanmire, at a function to honour her achievements after her pupils captured seven trophies at the All-Ireland dancing championship held in Derry. Picture: Eddie O'Hare
John O'Callaghan Park is immediately to the south, and the permitted Glanmire & Riverstown Greenway will provide direct pedestrian and cycle connections to the park and beyond.
The site has been the subject of various proposals in the past, including a plan to expand the John Barleycorn Hotel, after developer/investor Joe O'Donovan bought it for a reported €5m in 2004 — with Rebel Bar group input.
Scoil Mhuire Debs Ball at John Barleycorn Hotel, 1976. Actress Fiona Shaw, seated, front left.
It was put on the market again in 2012 for a reported €2.5m. Clyda Eco Homes Ltd, whose directors are Barry Coleman and Patricia Carty, are the current owners, although the land is likely to transfer to Valley Healthcare following the grant of planning permission. It's understood the sale of the land to Valley Healthcare was contingent on a successful planning application.
A source close to the deal, who did not want to be named, said it was 'welcome news for Glanmire, and hopefully will facilitate the development of the site, after so many years lying idle'. Glanmire's population is close to 10,000 and Valley Healthcare said in its submission to the planning board there was a demand for a primary care centre in the area, now classified as an 'urban town'.
The new centre is likely to operate under an operational lease model, with the HSE leasing it from Valley Healthcare. A similar arrangement is in place for the planned Woollen Mills primary care centre.
Valley Healthcare, now owned by international investor John Laing, has about 20 primary care centres across Ireland, with at least half a dozen more in the pipeline. They provide single point of access to outpatient care to local communities, offering patients a full range of non-acute healthcare and social services. Valley generates revenue through rental and service income, coming from the HSE and other tenants. Tenants in the centress typically include GP practices, pharmacies, and ancillary healthcare tenants.
