The path and part of the road outside Roman House on North Main Street has been cordoned off to protect the public after concerns were raised to the building's structural stability.
The outside of the building is sectioned off by metal gates and barriers extending partly onto the road. Red and white Fire and Rescue tape is cordoning off the area.
The exterior facade of the upstairs windows above the shop front have visible cracks and water damage.
Corkbeo was told the fencing went up yesterday after the City Council were alerted to the cracks in the shop front by worried local residents, fearing another incident on North Main Street.
Roman House is the latest in a long list of buildings in Cork City centre that have been hit with sudden structural issues.
On North Main Street, the former Hosfords Bakery building is still awaiting significant works after a large section of the rear of the building collapsed in July 2019.
Earlier this year, another building on the same block saw a large section of footpath on the
Grand Parade was cordoned off after sections of masonry and plaster around several windows on the structure fell away from the building and into the street.
At the time, Green Party Councillor Dan Boyle told CorkBeo that the structural failings of Cork City buildings is “an ongoing issue in the city centre,
“We have seen similar cases nearby recently,"
“It's ironic,” he said, as a €50 million investment had been made into the library on Grand Parade that week.
"These development plans must be linked, we should be looking at preserving existing buildings and the streetscape of the city," he added.
The structural integrity of city centre buildings has been an ongoing issue for decades in Cork. In 1999, a woman was killed on nearby Washington Street when the parapet of a building collapsed on a group of pedestrians.
Most recently, there have been several interventions at at-risk structures by Cork City Fire Brigade, including at the front of the former Queen's Old Castle building, at three buildings on Oliver Plunkett Street and the former Moderne building on Patrick Street (now a Super Dry outlet) which underwent significant repair and renovation works last year.
South Main Street,
Prince's Street and Marlboro Street have also seen recent incidents of structural failings of buildings.
Earlier this year, a
300-year-old wall collapsed into Industry Street, close by Barrack Street on the southside of the city.
put down the wine. You are making a fool of yourself
