The fire in the Presentation Convent in Mitchelstown last week is the latest episode in the sad saga of a once beautiful building which has become a victim of Celtic Tiger greed, community indifference and a failure of State agencies to protect buildings of regional and even national importance. 

But reading back over some of The Avondhu’s coverage of this story over the past 18 years shows that it din’t have to turn out like this for the convent in Mitchelstown.

And reading some of that coverage also reveals that for the past ten years, Mitchelstown has had an eyesore that everyone complains about but few were willing to do anything to prevent.

Full story in this week’s Print & Digital Edition