Chink of light on future of Loughea Town Hall

A new chink of light has emerged over the iconic Loughrea Town Hall after a last minute application for national funding was submitted for its renovation.

If successful, it could finally see the project get over the line after decades of inaction which has led to the building falling into disrepair since it closed in the 1980s.

The director of water services and environment Jim Cullen told this month’s Loughrea Municipal District Meeting that the application for a capital grant made to the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs was submitted jointly a month ago between the local authority and an amalgamation of community groups, called LARC (Loughrea Artistic and Recreational Community).

The grant could provide half of the total cost, with the remainder funded by the former town council, which set aside €150,000, an allocation from the Council’s own capital budget with another contribution to come through fundraising by the community.

“If the funding is successful, it would be the first time we’d be close to having the fundamental package,” reported Mr Cullen.

“We haven’t had any feedback of any significance. A couple of queries came back and were dealt with. If it’s successful it will be a shot in the arm for Loughrea Town Hall. The funding if it were to come through would be of some significance.

“But I wouldn’t like there to be any illusion – in the event the application were successful all the hard work would have to begin.”

Cllr Shane Donnellan said it was short enough notice to get the application together before the deadline due to the summer holidays but LARC had a big amount of the work done from a previous funding application.

“If we are successful it would do what we want to achieve which is to open up the town hall again. The problem as with all national funding there will be a lot of applicants,” the Fianna Fáil representative stated. He added that LARC were well aware that this would be the start of a lot of hard work.

Mr Cullen said if they secured the funding, the Council would pull a team together to project manage the restoration involving local authority staff and LARC volunteers.

LARC has been fundraising and campaigning to restore the former cinema and dance hall on Barrack Street to its former prominence as a centre of cultural life for the town of Loughrea.

“This means providing a space for social inclusion, youth, training, tourism, cultural and social events and the development of local enterprise,” according to their website.

Previously there was local disquiet that it would be refurbished for the purposes of offices and a museum.

But Mr Cullen has previously stated publicly that while several groups wanted space in the building none could help pay for it and there was no question of the local authority funding its restoration and handing it over to the community.

Some years back he had championed making it an incubation space for start-up companies but funding fell through. Designed by Samuel Robers Ussher in 1862 for the Marquess of Clanricarde, the hall cost £1,500. It was donated to the people of the town in 1928 but ownership passed to the local authority as residents who held shares died.