Mercy Heights

The Sisters of Mercy first arrived in Skibbereen in 1860 when this convent was built and departed in 2003  when it was closed. The chapel, with its fancy turret and rose window, was added in 1867 in French Gothic style, co designed by EW Pugin, eldest son of the more famous  and rather splendidly named Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin. It is an enormous building which also includes a derelict secondary school behind it, once attached to the convent. It was brought by a developer in 2015 for half a million with grand ideas for flats and cinemas and offices but has remained empty and derelict, waterlogged at lower levels. A little bit more research and it it seems it may have been bought by the Ludgate Centre  who intend to use it in: a series of enterprise supports, including a startup campus, an education innovation centre and a food tech/agritech innovation centre. 
I'd love to have a peek in before they get to work!