UCC SONM 25 Year Book

UCC / School of Nursing and Midwifery

students and 5 million funding was approved (15%) by the Higher Educational Authority (HEA) to accommodate new programmes in Clinical Therapies. The Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform contributed 3% for an on-site crèche (Appendix E) With full support from the then President of UCC, Professor Gerry Wrixon and the agreement of Academic Council, the decision was made to build on the site of Brookfield House, College Road, which had been acquired by the University. Dr. John Sweeney, Dr. Josephine Hegarty, Ms. Nuala Walshe and Ms. Rena Creedon (School academic staff) acted as Project Managers at different times during the construction of the building. The project managers worked with Tim O’Riordan and Mark Poland to advance the construction of the building.

Thus, Brookfield Health Sciences Complex came into being with the intention to integrate the education of students of nursing, medicine and therapies together and for the provision of offices for the College of Medicine and Health and associated staff. The intention also was to link Brookfield to the Western Gateway Building as it developed. The School of Nursing and Midwifery staff and students moved in over a weekend and lectures commenced on 4 th November 2004. On the 12 th of April 2005 shortly after taking up residence in Brookfield, the building was rocked by an explosion involving a boiler in the basement, three people were treated for injuries incurred. The attending Cork City Fire Brigade Officer John Lynch noted it was a miracle that no-one was killed. The building was closed temporally but reopened within days. The official opening by Minister Mary Harney, T.D., of the Brookfield Health Science Complex took place on 28 th November 2005. University and health care staff were invited to view the Building and its facilities and to meet staff (Appendix C).

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