Upcoming workshop on bringing 'eyesore' Ferbane hall back to life

Ferbane Tidy Towns is inviting people to attend an upcoming workshop which will look at ways of bringing the disused St Mary's Parochial Hall in the town back to life.

The event will be held on Saturday, March 2, and attendees will have the option of attending either a morning or an afternoon session. Both will involve a walkabout in Ferbane, followed by a workshop discussion in Gallen Community School.

St Mary's Parochial Hall was constructed in the 1950s, and became a key part of the cultural life of Ferbane, but it has been dormant since 2010 and is now regarded as an eyesore.

Aoibhinn Molloy Roche, chair of Ferbane Tidy Towns, said it was her understanding that the building was owned by the Department of Education. She said Ferbane Tidy Towns would like to see it preserved.

"It's an important part of our built heritage in Ferbane, and a key building on our Main Street. It has a beautiful facade as well, so we'd like to see it preserved," she said.

Aoibhinn explained that the hall had been built with voluntary labour provided by members of the local community around 1950.

"It has a huge musical history," she said. "There would have been travelling showbands there, and travelling plays.

"There would have been 'sale of work' gatherings held there, which is something people in Ferbane often talk about," she said, adding that it also previously hosted school musicals, school plays, a youth club and teenage discos.

At the workshop events on March 2, architect Gerard Carty of Grafton Architects will be on hand "to guide and inspire the participants," and the aim will be to "explore the heritage and potential of the building and site and re-imagine the space" for the future.

"The idea behind it is to have a walk around the town and look at the buildings we already have, the ones that are disused. It won't be looking at St Mary's Hall in isolation," said Aoibhinn.

"The second part of the workshop will take place in Gallen Community School and we're going to work with models of St Mary's Hall, which students in the school are making."

She added that while there was no funding in place for a redevelopment of St Mary's Hall at this stage, the workshop was put together as an initial step towards the preservation and redevelopment of it.

Work on repainting the hall is due to be completed in the Spring, and service users from St Hilda's have created murals which are due to be put in place there very shortly.

"That will make it less of an eyesore for now," said Aoibhinn, but she added that a redevelopment plan was needed to ensure it doesn't get more and more dilapidated as the years go on.

On March 2, the morning workshop will take place from 10.30. Participants will meet at St Mary's Hall and there will be a walkabout followed by a workshop discussion in Gallen Community School until 1pm. The afternoon event will be similar, and will take place from 2 to 4.30pm.

Places are free but limited, and those interested in attending are asked to email: ferbanetidytowns@gmail.com with their name, number and also which workshop they will be attending.