Over €500,000 to be spent on initial phase of Daingean hall revamp
Offaly County Council said over half a million euro will be spent on designs and other preparatory work for a major redevelopment of the former Daingean courthouse, now being used as Daingean Town Hall.
On Thursday evening a launch was held of the Daingean Court House Conservation Masterplan, which envisages a €3.4 million overhaul of the building.
The masterplan proposes creating a main hall to accommodate up to 150 people, for performances, lectures, and community events, with a digital hub or office space to be developed on the upper floor.
On Friday, it was announced that grant funding of €425,334 had been allocated towards the regeneration of Daingean Town Hall through the Rural Regeneration Development Fund.
This grant requires match funding of 20% from Offaly County Council’s Local Property Tax, of €106,334, which Offaly councillors have committed to providing, bringing the total project grant to €531,668.
In a press statement, the council said the funding would be used to hire a conservation architect-led design team to develop initial designs in the masterplan, bring them to the more detailed design stage in order to apply for planning permission.
Speaking at the official launch of the masterplan on Thursday, the Cathaoirleach of Offaly County Council, Cllr John Leahy, said: "The importance of preserving our heritage and protecting buildings of historic and architectural importance cannot be underestimated and the future regeneration of this Town Hall will have an extremely positive impact on the area from both an economic and social perspective."
After hearing of the funding announcement, he said, "I welcome the news that the community of Daingean have received a much-deserved grant to move on the regeneration of Daingean Town Hall.
"This grant is a stepping stone for a bright future for Daingean town, and I wish them the best of luck in progressing this project."
The Chief Executive Officer, Offaly Couty Council, Anna Marie Delaney noted that: "The Conservation Masterplan we have today is the culmination of comprehensive consultation between Daingean Town Hall Committee, the Town Hall Restoration Committee, Offaly County Council’s Regeneration Section and the conservation architect consultants, Howley Hayes Cooney.
"I welcome the positive news of this RRDF funding for Daingean, an important step in securing the future of the Town Hall which, when refurbished, will contribute greatly to the social and economic life of the town, and will serve the community of Daingean and beyond for many years to come," she added.
"It also signifies the commitment from members for match funding though the Local Property Tax without which these projects could not progress.”
Cllr Liam Quinn, Cathaoirleach of Edenderry Municipal District, said: "I am delighted with the announcement of such significant investment for the town of Daingean and thank the Minister, the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, Offaly County Council staff, and both Daingean Town Hall Committee and the Town Hall Restoration Committee for their co-operation and dedication which has led to the success of this application."
Brendan Darcy, chair of the Daingean Town Hall committee recognised "the remarkable work done by the last committee with core members, Johnnie Dunne, Jannette McCormack and Mag Gallagher and the financially sound footing of the Hall that they passed on."
He continued to thank "Dev Scally, Collette Fleming, Carmel Smyth and Colm O’Grady the present committee for their contribution."
On hearing about the funding announcement, Brendan Darcy said: "We as a community are delighted to have been successful in this round of RRDF funding and are looking forward to working with the Regeneration Team of Offaly County Council to move to the next detail design stage of regenerating Daingean Town Hall. I would like to thank all Offaly County Council staff and the consultants Howley Hayes Cooney for the work completed to date."
The Daingean Court House Conservation Masterplan is available to view on the Offaly County Council website here.