Arts Centre to get some TLC in makeover plan

By Bernie Ní Fhlatharta

The Galway Arts Centre is to have a makeover next year to address a leaking roof which is impacting on ceilings and interior walls.

The Centre at 47 Dominick Street has been in need of ‘a bit of TLC’ in recent years with a number of visitors attending an exhibition there during the recent Arts Festival commenting on dampness.

Paraic Breathnach, Managing Director of the Centre, said he was hopeful that work would finally be carried out on the premises next year.

“It’s owned by the City Council and we have been flagging the condition of the old building for years and I am happy that they are finally taking it seriously.

“The main problem is the old roof, which has been leaking and is the cause of the dampness. An assessment of the building is being carried out to see what other works need to be carried out.

“It’s not a straightforward job as it is a listed building and the plasterwork inside which involves cornices and coving will have to be carried out by a specialist.

“It’s an inadvertent burden to give an arts group a listed building without suitable support to maintain the building.”

The three-storey Dominick Street premises operates mainly as an art gallery, though it also provides writing classes.

The Dominick Street premises was built in the 1830s and was the residence of the Persse family, the whiskey distillers at Newcastle who provided employment for over 100 people for almost 100 years until it was closed in 1908.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.

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