Galway Tudor House To be Converted into Sanatorium — Six Thousands Pounds Expenditure

The Galway Observer, Saturday, October 8, 1932.

The conversion of Kilcornan House, Clarenbridge, County Galway, into a County Sanatorium, was the subject of discussion at the meeting of the ='place'>Galway Board of Health yesterday, following a letter from the Minister for Local Government.

The Minister intimated that acting on expert engineering opinion he was advised that only 30 acres of this land would be needed for the purposes of the proposed sanatorium and the Irish Land Commission has agreed to take over the balance of the lands at a fixed valuation.

The whole matter should be considered by the Board of Health in all its aspects and if they propose to proceed with the acquisition of Kilcornan house no definite commitment for the purpose should be entered into until the water supply and sewerage arrangements have been closely examined and reported on as being satisfactory.

The Minister is of opinion, the letter proceeded, that an offer by the Board of £10,000 for this property would be reasonable having regard to the valuation placed on the lands by the Land Commission and the expenditure of £6,000 estimated for the conversion of the premises into a sanatorium as well as the additional outlay on equipment involved.

The County Medical Officer of Health, should at the same time, be asked to furnish his views as to any possible alternative use for the premises at Woodlands Sanatorium.

In the course of a general discussion that followed, Mr. Gilbert Lynch said it was better to face the problems of providing a decent sanatorium than to be tinkering with the question. Any expenditure on acquiring a good building would be better than expending some thousands in the so called improvements in Woodlands. The latter place was never suitable as a Sanatorium.

Dr. Boyd Barrett, Medical Inspector of the Ministry and Mr. P. J. Rafferty, B.E., engineering inspector, submitted a report dealing with Kilcornan house. They stated that it was a Tudor mansion ideally situated with a mainly southern aspect in a well wooden demesne of approximately one thousand acres with pleasure gardens and extensive outoffices. They added, that the proposed extension of Woodlands, the old sanatorium could not be satisfactory owing to restrictions as to location. The grounds too were unsuitable for the erection of chalets.

It was decided to consult expert engineering opinion in regard to the water supply of Kilcornan and to ask a report from Dr. O'Beirne, County Medical Officer of Health as to what use the present sanatorium at Woodlands should be put to.