Dan Breen House, Tipperary Town is a two-storey detached building with a basement and two mezzanine levels in the north-west corner. The basement exits to a lowered courtyard. The main building is believed to have been constructed circa 1900 and is listed as a Protected Structure.
The building is to be repurposed as a modern Youth and Further Education Training Centre. Youth Work Ireland Tipperary and Tipperary Education and Training Board will be the main tenants and users of the building. The project will encompass the refurbishment of the existing main building, demolition of the old library extension, design of a new extension matching the builder users’ requirements, design of ancillaries such as outbuildings to be repurposes as workshop / training areas and landscape design.
Under this proposal, Youth Work Ireland Tipperary (YWIT) working with Tipperary Education and Training Board (ETB), Tipperary County Council and Tipperary Town Revitalisation Task Force (TTRTF), seeks to facilitate the repurposing and transformation of Dan Breen House into a youth services, education and training hub providing high quality, fit-for-purpose multi-functional space.
The development proposed will:
- provide a fit-for-purpose youth space and education and training facilities with appropriate access for members of the public and staff
- provide a quality location for provision of youth services in the town
- deliver an essential, high-quality teaching and learning space for further education and training provision in Tipperary.
- provide appropriate study and collaboration space for learners and youth providing access to key supports and learning resources, support staff and dedicated digital supports.
- offer a safe and secure environment that acts as a base for collaboration, innovation and best practice across services within the town.
- provide for greater visibility of services in Tipperary Town offering a recognised central location.
- provide access to a specialised training space to the rear that can be used to develop pre-apprenticeship or specific skills training in areas such as horticulture, animal care, woodcraft, engineering etc.
- create a social enterprise – to support young people unemployed in Tipperary Town to gain training and experience through being employed at a locally based youth café.