Crossmolina Community Council CLG has welcomed a major step forward in long-awaited plans to renovate the pier area at Lough Conn, after securing funding from the 2025 Oweninny Wind Farm Phase 2 Community Benefit Fund.
The funding has enabled the community group to progress the project to the design stage, with proposed redevelopment plans for the pier at Gortnor Abbey in Crossmolina now completed.
This unique architectural design for the Crossmolina Pier Development presents the waterfront as a contemporary, multi-purpose public space, combining recreation, community use, landscape enhancement, and improved access to the water.
At the centre of the proposal is a generous paved public plaza, designed as a flexible gathering space. Three tensile fabric canopies create sheltered outdoor areas without enclosing the plaza, allowing the space to accommodate informal seating, markets, community gatherings, performances, or seasonal events. Their lightweight sculptural forms contrast with the more robust architecture and stone landscape elements.
The main building has a restrained contemporary character, using dark vertical cladding and simple rectilinear forms. It appears to incorporate several functions, with large openings addressing the plaza, an elevated terrace/viewing area and external stairs connecting different levels. Its low profile helps maintain a strong visual relationship between the public space, surrounding landscape and waterfront.
A particularly distinctive element is the circular amphitheatre/seating area on the eastern side. Curved tiered seating creates an intimate outdoor gathering or performance space, while its orientation toward the plaza and landscape allows it to function as both an event venue and an informal place to sit. The adjacent curved water/landscape feature reinforces its identity as a focal point.
Along the waterfront, the proposal introduces a broad, accessible promenade with gently graded ramps, railings, integrated planting, and seating. This creates a continuous pedestrian connection close to the water while dealing sensitively with changes in level. The strong horizontal geometry of the promenade also provides a visual edge between the developed public realm and the river.
The landscaping is deliberately naturalistic around the perimeter, with native-style grasses, shrubs, trees, wildflower planting, stone walls, and large boulders helping the development transition into its riverside setting. More formal paving and planting define the central civic areas, producing a clear progression from the built plaza to the softer surrounding landscape. Cycle parking and pedestrian connections also indicate an emphasis on active travel and accessibility.
Overall, the design is a contemporary waterfront public-realm scheme centred on community activity and connection with the lake. It combines a flexible civic plaza, sheltered gathering areas, amphitheatre, waterfront promenade, recreational facilities, and landscape improvements to create a stronger destination at Crossmolina Pier while retaining a significant amount of greenery around the development.
