Sports Ireland Long Barn

As part of its wider involvement in the Sport Ireland Architectural Framework, MOLA Architecture was commissioned to develop a strategic masterplan for the courtyard buildings adjoining Abbottstown House. The study examined how these protected agricultural structures, long used for storage and groundskeeping functions, could be repurposed to support office, training and sports-related activities. The strategy reframed the courtyard as a locus of campus life and a focal point within the historic core, setting in motion a phased programme of adaptive reuse.

The Long Barn is the first project to be delivered under this framework. The 718sqm building provides a permanent base for the Olympic Federation of Ireland together with an Athletes’ Lounge for the Sport Ireland Institute, establishing an athlete-centred environment that supported Team Ireland’s preparations for Paris 2024. The project involved the careful refurbishment and extension of the existing barns, retaining their characteristic roof profiles and stone fabric while introducing a contemporary two-storey volume with an asymmetric roof form. The new addition is distinct yet complementary, employing a restrained palette of materials and a clear tectonic language.

The Long Barn demonstrates how heritage buildings can be renewed for modern use, supporting a more cohesive campus and forming the first step in the transformation of the Abbottstown courtyard into a working civic ensemble.