Hugh Wallace to launch Offaly’s Heritage Buildings Show

Architect Hugh Wallace, of Great Irish House Revival and Home of the Year fame, will launch the Offaly’s Heritage Buildings Show at 1pm on Saturday, June 15, in the Birr Theatre and Arts Centre.

This, free, family friendly, community, built heritage event will take place in Ireland’s finest Georgian town, Birr, on Saturday and Sunday, June 15 and 16, from 10am to 5pm. Birr Theatre & Arts Centre will become a one-stop destination for old buildings owners in need of accurate, impartial, and free advice on their care and repair.

The exhibition is delivered by the Irish Georgian Society and its IGS Birr Chapter, in partnership with Offaly County Council and with grant support from the Heritage Council, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and Creative Ireland.

Throughout the weekend over twenty craftspeople will demonstrate the key traditional skills needed for the conservation and maintenance of old buildings, including sash window repairs; use of lime-based mortars; decorative plasterwork; ironwork; slate roofing; thatching, stained glass and fanlight conservation; sign writing, stone carving; dry stone wall construction; and wallpaper-making to name a few.

The demonstrations will be complemented by information stands hosted by the Irish Georgian Society, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, the Society for Protection of Ancient Buildings Ireland (SPAB) and the CIF’s Register of Heritage Contractors, where expert advice on planning law, tax incentive schemes, grants and conservation maintenance can be gathered. Building owners are encouraged to bring photographs of their houses to gain more meaningful advice from the assembled conservation and traditional building skills experts.

The exhibition will be complemented by a programme of free hourly interactive talks, scheduled to take place over the two days. The talks are broad ranging. Subjects addressed include tackling damp; practical advice on energy efficiency upgrades to traditionally built buildings; understanding and conserving vernacular architecture; information on grant aid; as well as standalone talks on the significance and repair of traditional slate roofs; thatched roofs; bricks; timber windows; lime; and early wallpapers.

There will also be talks on Offaly’s historic buildings both from Trinity College Dublin’s Dr Andrew Tierney, the author of Buildings of Ireland: Central Leinster: Kildare, Laoise and Offaly and Damian Murphy of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage’s National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Great Irish House Revival presenter and architect, Hugh Wallace will also deliver a talk at the launch, posing the question, ‘Does Every Lathe and Plaster Ceiling Deserve to be Preserved?’

Talks are aimed at owners and occupiers of traditionally built buildings but will also be of interest to everyone with an interest in Offaly’s history and heritage. Additionally, the talks are recognised as formal continuing professional development by the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland, Engineers Ireland, the Irish Planning Institute, and the CIF’s Register of Heritage Contactors. The talks, which are free of charge, take place in the Birr Theatre and Arts Centre and no advanced booking is required. Additionally, Irish Georgian Society Birr Chapter committee member, John Joyce will lead an architectural walking tour of Birr’s many impressive historic buildings. Offaly’s Heritage Buildings Show also includes free children’s craft skills workshops on Saturday.

The hourly workshops will be led by some of Ireland's finest skilled craftspeople and take place in John’s Hall, Birr and Birr Library. The children’s workshops are organised as part of Creative Ireland’s Cruinniú na nÓg, a national day of free creativity for children and young people.

The six interactive workshops will give children the opportunity to try their hand at stone carving; block printed traditional handmade wallpapers, gilding and stencilling; wet dashing with lime; gilding and stencilling; as well as designing fanlights. All demonstrations and talks are free of charge and no booking is required. The children’s workshops are free of charge, but advance booking is recommended. For the full programme of events and to advance book for the children’s workshops please visit www.igs.ie

Donough Cahill, Executive Director of the Irish Georgian Society, said: "The Irish Georgian Society is delighted to partner with Offaly County Council’s Architectural Conservation Officer Rachel McKenna to showcase the importance of using traditional buildings methods and materials in the conservation of Offaly’s heritage buildings. I encourage anyone with an interest in Offaly’s built heritage to come to the exhibition in Birr on the weekend of Saturday and Sunday, June 15 and 16.

The exhibition will be of particular benefit if you are the owner of a Protected Structure considering embarking on the renovation or energy upgrading of your home as the Offaly’s Heritage Buildings Show is where you can gain free, accurate and impartial best conservation advice.

"In particular the Irish Georgian Society is delighted to bring the exhibition to Ireland’s finest Georgian town, Birr, home of the Society’s Birr Chapter, which has been championing the town’s, built heritage for over three decades with its Patron, the Earl of Rosse at the helm."

Rachel McKenna, Architectural Conservation Officer at Offaly County Council added: "‘Two days of onsite talks and workshops for adults and children provides a great opportunity for owners of Offaly’s built heritage to engage with a broad range of experts and practitioners. Offaly County Council are very pleased to be partnering with the Irish Georgian Society for this wonderful event in Birr.

The talks and demonstrations will benefit not only those living in the many fine Georgian houses in Birr and surrounding areas but will also be of interest to historic homeowners living in Offaly’s vernacular buildings, with talks and demonstrations on thatching, lime and mud wall construction to name a few." Hugh Wallace, Architect and presenter of Great Irish House Revival and Home of the Year, said: "In any renovation, there are conflicting demands: the owner's dreams, conservation, planning, building control, fire compliance... and the all-important budget. These elements too often do not align, so another part of our architectural heritage returns to the ground whence it came."