Councillors vote to proceed with Fr Mathew Hall art gallery plans

Athlone Town Council will proceed with the art gallery proposal for the Fr Mathew Hall at the Town Bridge, four years after plans to restore the derelict building were first mooted. The County Manager"s report and recommendations on the public submission phase was agreed at last Tuesday night"s monthly town council meeting. Danny McLoughlin said he is 'satisfied that the development is in accordance with proper development aims'. As recommended by Waterways Ireland, a buffer will be provided along the walkway 'to prevent vessels being impaled and to avoid injury to the waterway users'. Mr McLoughlin said that an archeologist will fully assess the site before and during construction, to ensure that any remains of 'Connaught Tower' which is believed to be in the area, will be 'appropriately dealt with'. A submission from a lecturer in NUI Galway lecturer objected to the development, saying it was 'inappropriate' because that the area beside the hall may contain remains of an outer ward attached to the castle. Dr Kieran O"Connor said that a map from the 17th century suggests that the Castle had an outer ward to the north in the vicinity of the hall which suggests that that area was 'extremely sensitive from an archeological perspective'. However as Mr McLoughlin pointed out, this site would have previously been disturbed by the original construction of the hall. The appointment of an archeologist was also suggested by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. Many other submissions suggested that a tourist office should be located within the new building, however the council said that this decision could only be made by Fáilte Ireland. Cllr John Butler welcomed the supportive submissions from the Department of the Environment and the Old Athlone Society. He said that back in 1991, when the Castle and the old Ritz were being redeveloped, councillors wondered what could be done to develop the four corners of the Town Bridge area. 'This building has been derelict for the last five years, a full onus is on the council to do something,' he said. 'I propose the development of an art gallery on the site.' He said that it may not be the best planning in recessionary times but the best thing to do was to the develop the town and future business of the town. Cllr Ray Lennon (Lab) pointed out that Cllr Butler said the building was 'fit to be knocked and not fit to be an art gallery' a while ago. 'The people in Athlone support everything that"s good for the town,' he said. 'Athlone is a tourist town, we need to develop it as a tourist town.' He again proposed that a tourist office should be located in the building and also said that a museum to Count John McCormack should be located within the hall. 'He doesn"t belong in the Castle, it"s a military thing, it"s not the place for a world-renowned tenor. He should be in the hall where he performed,' he said. He said that the gallery was 'not guaranteed' to make money and suggested that it would cost the council €400,000 per year in running costs. This was disputed by the Town Clerk. 'What kind of art gallery is it going to be,' he asked. 'We should have a re-think.' He added he also thought that the design was out of context with Sts Peter and Paul"s Church and said that Westsiders were proud of that building and the new art gallery design took away from it. 'A large amount of people feel the same way,' he finished. He proposed that the council look at putting other facilities in the Fr Mathew Hall, a view which no-one else supported. Cllr Kieran Molloy (FF) said he welcomed the spending of money on the Westside and the art gallery plans. 'This development will go a long way towards complementing the Westside,' he added. He said he was glad that the Old Athlone Society, Athlone Musical Society and the chamber also welcomed the proposal. He said the new building design didn"t hinder the view of the church and that the present building was higher than the gallery design. He said that although the hall had 'great memories for a lot of people' it shouldn"t hinder its re-development. Cllr Mick O"Connell (FG) had suggested in his submission that the design of the building should be toned down and be 'more in line' with its surroundings. He asked was there any fear that the funding grant was no longer available from the government due to the current economic climate. He added that, in his submission, he asked that a plaque detailing the history of the hall should be erected, while an access plan to facilitate local groups who will use the meeting room should be drawn up. Cllr Cooney reminded the meeting that their only objective at the meeting was to vote on the plan as it was or not. He said that the redesign was 'down to a matter of taste' but that he thought that the gallery fitted into the area well. Cllr Kevin 'Boxer' Moran said that the question of what to do with the Fr Mathew Hall was with the council for 'quite some time' and said that with the election coming up, some people were talking out of 'both sides of their mouth'. nowhere for people to show off their work,' he said. 'People spend hours and hours putting their thoughts together... now I"m not an artist and I can"t read it, but I"ve been a councillor for nine years and in that time, how many deputations have been in here looking for something, somewhere to show off their work?' In response to some people"s beliefs that the building should be a protected structure, he said that the last building that was given a protection order, Macken"s shop, was still empty and that no business would use it because the windows were too small to display goods. He said the decision to make the centrally-located hall into an art gallery was the right decision to 'move forward'. 'Can"t we put stuff about John McCormack inside the building?' he asked. He added that it wasn"t an 'east versus west' issue, but one for all of Athlone. He seconded Cllr Butler"s proposal to go ahead with the development as it is with the county manager"s recommendations. Cllr Paul Hogan (SF) said he was a little disappointed by the removal of three trees from alongside the hall, but that it was a small price to pay. He said that as Mayor, he opened many exhibitions on the ground floor of the Civic Centre and it wasn"t a proper place for exhibitions. He added that the best way the council could retain and look after the property was to invest in it. Cllr Berry (Ind) said he also supported the redevelopment of the hall, along with the vast majority of the public who were in favour of it going ahead. The County Manager said that it was clear that the councillors were interested in doing the right thing. 'People turned up in numbers and there was a substantial number of submissions made,' added Danny McLoughlin. He explained that the project came about from the government"s ACCESS II grant, which was allocated on a nationwide basis. 'The Department thinks it"s a good idea,' he added. 'It will add to the social structure of the town.' He emphasised that the ACCESS grant was all about providing access to the arts for everyone in the community, and it was not just an elitist thing. He said that the funding was 'not a creation of recent time' and a substantial amount was set aside for the development. 'I appreciate at present times we"re in, people point to a need for prudence,' he said. 'But it"s not become a bad idea overnight, it"s a good idea.' Mr McLoughlin said that the running costs of the gallery would not be 'remotely' near to what Cllr Lennon suggested. However he said that the gallery was not a profit-making venture, as these 'galleries never are'. Cllr Lennon suggested that the maintenance works should be carried out on the hall for the time being, to improve the front visage, especially for tourists coming up the Shannon. Cllr 'Boxer' Moran suggested that a covering should be hung over the building, depicting an artist"s impression of what the new building will look like.