Site for sore eyes: The ruins of the former Árd Rí Hotel overlooking Waterford City. | Photo: Noel Browne
A resolution has been put before the monthly meeting of Waterford City Council which will legally enable it to act on behalf of Kilkenny County Council under the Derelict Sites Act for the purpose of ‘removing the former hotel from dereliction’.
Overlooking the city from an unrivalled setting, since the hotel’s closure four years ago the building and its environs have become what City Manager Michael Walsh describes as “a blot of the landscape.”
Thrashed by vandals – whose anti-social and downright dangerous antics are another major concern – it’s now an ugly shell, with its wrecked interior matched by smashed windows and a graffiti-covered facade, and the once-manicured lawns are wildly overgrown.
With the Tall Ships’ Races returning to the quayside next summer the Council is obviously keen to see this embarrassment to the city removed.
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What are the Council going to do, blow it up?
why wait a “couple of months” take it over now and demolish it
I was home visiting family in Waterford recently and was appalled by the state of the Ard Ri building and site, someone better get the bulldozer in soon, what sort of image will that eyesore project to visiting ships and tourists next year during the Tall Ships event. I look forward to seeing the demolition photos in the Munster soon!
I remember 10 years ago, I was offered a job there as one of the Bar Managers,,, BUT I declined due to the idea of the LONG walk up that driveway…
It was such a great site seeing the HOTEL from all over Waterford,,,
It should be transformed into a sign like ………. W A T E R F O R D ……….. as in the way HOLLYWOOD is in USA…
Forget about the HOTEL… MAKE it a landmark.
aidan that is a fantastic idea, really good thinking, you should definitely carry that idea forward and suggest it to the City Council.
Having lived in Waterford for many years, and taken an interest in the history of the town, the solution I would propose is that the current structure is demolished and another more asthetic building is built in its place – not necessarily a hotel as this industry is depressed at the moment. Part of the remediation of the Ard Ri site should be the rebuiling of Flemings Castle which I believe occupied that area at one time – photos from the late sixties show a stone tower on what became the Ard Ri….
In response to PQ – we used to play us there as kids…. As far as I remember, the Tower is “up the back” of the hotel, not on the actual location of the hotel itself. Probably still there. Can’t speak to the castle. And yes, the idea of a Waterford sign on the hill sounds fantastic except, and sorry to be such a cynic, the likely hood is that it would be vandalised too!!
I’m currently living in Sydney and was shocked to see these photo’s, as I was a member of the leisure center there once. If this is a measure of the state of the country then its in really trouble. Something like this those not happen over knight and surely could have been prevented from getting to this state.
I remember staying in the hotel on new years eve 1999.what a night.new years eve ball.my self and the wife on the night meet the team from waterford crystal and everyone had a great night.shame to see the hotel in the sorry state it is now.it had a great leisure centre and what a veiw from the top floor overlooking waterford.
further comment,the hotel used to be a jurys hotel employing over 60 full time staff,then mc niff bought the hotel in 2002 and all the staff were told their jobs were safe. then only four years later mc niff the northern bastard closed down the hotel.
I don’t think Kilkenny would be too happy with a monsterous sign “WATERFORD” on their turf!!… (at least according to that newspaper article its Kilkenny).
I’m sure the K-Team would be only too glad to be the first to vandalise it! – probably spray the letters yellow & Black or something childish like that…