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03.12.2007
Athlone Town Council (ATC) vote to save
Fr. Mathew Hall
The Town Clerk informed the Members that he had just received a submission
from the Athlone Architectural, Heritage Group containing a petition
signed by 3,741 people to protect the Fr. Matthew Hall. It also contained
a letter from the Chief Executive of Opera Ireland stating that John
McCormack had been a global phenomenon and to demolish or redevelop
the Fr. Matthew Hall where he performed, in a way that did not fully
respect its origins and function, would be a travesty. He requested
that its future development be in a manner and for a purpose which
befits its unique history.
The Members discussed the Report. Cllr. Berry was not in favour of
its recommendations and wanted the Members to add the Hall to the
List of Protected Structures. Cllr. Cooney suggested a county Art
Gallery, getting finance from Westmeath County Council too. He
was in favour
of a sympathetic extension. Cllr. O’Connell agreed and also wanted
the building added to the List of Protected Structures.
Cllr. Molloy wanted no move of these from the Castle, but wanted the
Hall retained. The Mayor agreed with this. Cllr. K. Moran accepted
the Report recommendations. It was proposed by Cllr. Lennon and seconded
by Cllr. Berry that the Hall be used as a Tourist Office and a Count
John McCormack Museum.
The Town Clerk advised Cllr. Lennon that as a decision had already
been made to use the Hall as an Art Gallery, a change of use could
not be considered now and would require an advance notice of motion.
It was proposed by Cllr. Butler and seconded by Cllr. E. Moran,“That
we hereby accept the Report of the Director of Services in respect
of the Fr. Matthew Hall and approve of his recommendations which are
as follows:
• The retention of the Fr. Matthew Hall for use as an Art Gallery
with possibly one floor being used as a Gallery/exhibition space and
the other floor for office and administrative purposes.
• The provision of a single storey extension to the north to
accommodate the main entrance with associated uses and a second gallery.
• The design to reflect the architecture of the area.
• Artists studios to be provided in the old fire station at the
Abbey Road.
• Apart from general refurbishment, the upper floor of the Hall
to be strengthened and the foundations underpinned for structural
stability.
• Consider the inclusion of the Fr. Matthew Hall in the Record
of Protected Structures when the work is completed.
The final proposal determined by the Members will be subject to the
Part VIII planning process and will be placed on public display with
an invitation for submissions and then a final consideration and decision
by the Members.
Cllrs. Lennon & Berry indicated their disagreement and a vote
on the proposal was taken and resulted as follows; In favour:Cllrs.
Butler, Cooney, Hogan, Molloy, E. Moran, K. Moran and O’Connell.
Against: Cllr. Berry and Lennon. The proposal to accept the Report
and approve of the recommendations was adopted 7no. votes to 2no.
votes.
Members of the Athlone Architectural Heritage Group
were present at the meeting.
Following Athlone Town Council's unanimous decision to retain the
Fr. Mathew Hall, we, the Athlone Architectural Heritage Group, would
like to thank the council for heeding the concerns of the townspeople
who took the time to sign our petition. However, that is not the end
of the story; the ATC propose to forge ahead with a new architectural
design for the building. We will continue to monitor the situation.
We are most grateful to our active supporters who worked tirelessly
to promote our campaign, particularly, two of our Town Councillors,
namely Austin Berry and Ray Lennon. We would also like to thank the
local media, especially the Westmeath Independent,
for their support in making our voice heard.
We will continue to the lobby the Town Council to maintain the best
interests of the Fr Mathew Hall. The next phase of our campaign will
concern the future use of the building.
We propose that is maintained as a public amenity to include the tourist
office (from it's current entrenched location in the castle) where
is would be easily accessible to tourists and locals alike. Also,
we want the building to contain a museum dedicated to the life of
Athlone's most famous son, Count John McCormack.
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