Ex-bank goes from boom to bunks

It was once the building where developers and bankers shook hands on property deals worth hundreds of millions of euro.
It symbolised the boom of the Celtic Tiger in Galway, until its signage was removed under a cloud of shame, broken dreams and €30 billion of debt.
And now, the former Anglo Irish Bank offices on the corner of Forster Street and Bothar Uí Eithir is set to get a new lease of life, but with a very different purpose.
Plans are set to be lodged with Galway City Council in the coming days for the transformation of the four-storey office block into an upmarket hostel with more than 200 beds.
The hostel is expected to operate along the lines of the Generator in Smithfield, Dublin. The building is understood to have been purchased in recent months, and the new business will be operated by Shay Livingstone and Johnathan Duggan, who already run the Connacht Hotel and An Púcán.
Through their company Connacht Accommodation Ltd, they will be seeking permission for a change of use of the ground, first and second from the former financial services building to a tourist hostel.
The ground floor plans are for a recreational space, which includes a pool table and coffee dock. It is not known if there are plans for a bar area.
The building will undergo a major internal refurbishment, and the plans include more than 200 bed spaces on the upper floors.
For more on this story, see the Galway City Tribune.