Birr Courthouse to be turned into arts hub

Ambitious plans to transform the former Birr Courthouse into a visual, digital and performing arts hub were launched this week by chief executive of Offaly County Council, Anna Marie Delaney.

The Birr Creative Court project details plans to refurbish and re-purpose the Birr Courthouse on Emmet Street, into a centre for creative professional practitioners in the visual, performing and digital arts to live and work.

It also aims to be an attractive recreational space for residents to meet, relax and exchange ideas.

The report will now be used to secure funding for a feasibility study, and ultimately, to get the work started.

Former courthouse cells will be used for studios, particularly digital studios, but also for the visual arts, while larger rooms will serve as meeting rooms and performance spaces and workshops.

Four broad categories of activity are envisaged including the Visual Arts, Performing Arts, Digital Arts and what the Birr 2020 committee have called 'Curious Minds', which refers to the use of the courtroom as a forum for debate and discussion, such as lectures and community activities.

Plans are also proposed to build a stand-alone structure in the courthouse yard as a home for Birr Boxing Club.

The established Birr Boxing Club is an initiative of the Birr Traveller and Settled People’s Group and needs a permanent fit-for-purpose home for which separate funding streams will be sought.

It's planned to make the yard space available to other community groups for hire when not in use by the Boxing Club, and could overlap with the Creative Court by providing a flat-floor area for dance at certain times of the week.

"It will be shared with the creative residents who will use it for presentation of their work for criticism and review, or, in the case of performing artists, for recitals of music and poetry," states the report which was put together by Lousie Browne and Associates.

The report, which was commissioned by Birr 2020 Vision Company with funding gratefully received from Offaly Local Development Company, is the result of an extensive eight-month process of consultation and engagement with the project steering committee and the wider cultural community of Birr.

It sets out in detail the proposition for the courthouse, beginning with the concept and the location and then moving on to a detailed description of the spaces and their possible use in a re-purposed building.

In keeping with the requirements of a protected structure, it is not intended to alter the existing spaces, but to ensure “the fabric of the existing structure”, providing adequate services and re-decorating.

“Research indicates that there is substantial community and stakeholder enthusiasm for the development of a significant new piece of creative and cultural infrastructure in Birr,” states the report.

“Notwithstanding the challenges that a project of this scale presents, Birr’s track record in heritage conservation and cultural activation speaks for itself.

“Birr Creative Court can play a role in stimulating local economic development and support community cultural development and engagement to enrich the lives of all those who will be encouraged to participate in its development and ensure its success,” concludes the report.