Uillinn: West Cork Arts Centre: The River Ilen Drainage Scheme

With all the work and preparation going on inside the Uillinn for the upcoming Coming home: Art & The Great Hunger exhibition, it is easy to forget about all the work that is going on outside of the building in preparation for our opening night.

Photo Courtesy of Jons Civil Engineering Limited on behalf of Cork City Council

The River Ilen Drainage Scheme is one of a number of major flood relief schemes undertaken in Cork county following a decision by the OPW in 2015. The West Cork Arts Centre is located in the Uillinn, at the meeting (or elbow) of the Caol Stream and the Ilen River, so we very much welcome these works!

The 15.8m scheme is a response to two destructive floods in 2009 and a total of 21 significant floods since 1943. Construction formally commenced with Jons Civil Engineering in June 2016 and I recently had a chance to talk with Simon, a foreman on the team.

He explained that the entire town's flood defences would be raised 4 meters to protect from high water levels. For the work being done outside WCAC, this means that the Caol Stream has to be diverted to provide the workers with a dry working site. Sections of reinforced concrete are installed near the building.

By design, the walls that have been created around the Uillinn have been finished with Corten steel echoing the aesthetic of the building and the vision of its architects, Donaghy and Dimond. Corten steel is an unusual material as it eliminates the need for painting and rusts and weathers over time adding character to a building. Architect, Will Dimond had said the use of the material was inspired by the red-oxide painted, corrugated steel roofs of traditional West Cork barns.