Option of moving historic Browne Doorway to be examined

Work is set to begin on the Browne Doorway on Eyre Square by the summer after tenders were sent out looking for a host of experts to restore it and ensure its conservation.

The protected structure dating from 1627 may have to be relocated from its current home where it was moved in 1905 following the demolition of a mansion owned by merchant Dominic Browne and wife Maria Lynch.

City Heritage Officer Jim Higgins said the tenders will look into whether it can remain safely where it is or if it should be moved to a new location.

After the tender was awarded, work was likely to begin this summer, he predicted.

His own preference is that it should be relocated to the Galway City Museum. For 277 years the doorway, topped by a stone-mullioned window, was in context as part of a building on Abbeygate Street, he pointed out.

“If you want to display something and give an idea of it in context, the setting should really have a building as a backdrop. A museum environment is possibly the best option in the long-term,” he believes.

“At the minute, the priority is to conserve it. Over 15 years ago a Christmas crib was put at the back of it and somebody set fire to it, causing spalling or flaking of the stone. It is deteriorating at a slow rate, but nevertheless there is deterioration.”

Whoever wins the tender will also have to investigate whether there has been any change to the base since work was carried out in the 1950s to stabilise the structure after it had started to lean over.

If the experts decide the structure can remain in situ safely, they will also remove the “temporary” Perspex hoarding erected at least eight years ago in the interests of public safety and conservation.

“Some sort of barrier would be necessary but not as obtrusive as what’s there. You would try to put up something that would not obscure photos but also protect people and the stone.”

The heritage officer said health and safety considerations would override this if experts found that the structure was in danger of collapsing.

“The best thing is to consult with the experts and stakeholders and come up with a compromise. Let’s try and get the monument conserved and put in good conditions before we think about anything else.”

The unsightly barrier has been regarded as an eyesore, but its removal has been stalled for many years due to funding cuts.

Councillors were told last year that Galway City Council would have to spend up to €1.5m on repairing three landmark castles and the Browne Doorway or risk losing them forever.

■ For more on this story, see the print edition of the Galway City Tribune.