Old courthouse in Mayo town to be converted into new facility

COMMUNITY NOTES: BALLYHAUNIS - WESTERN PEOPLE (MARCH 4 EDITION)

The former courthouse in Ballyhaunis will be converted into an artist studio under a €150,000 refurbishment funded by the Community Recognition Fund.

Opened in 1874, the limestone-faced Ballyhaunis courthouse closed in 2013 as part of a package of government cutbacks. Ownership of the building was later transferred from the Office of Public Works to Mayo County Council, which will now lease the building to the local Rural Irish Artists group.

The building had earlier been offered to the local boxing club in 2021 but costly adaption works to bring the building in line with fire and building safety made the move prohibitively expensive. The council’s top official for the Claremorris Municipal District told this column at the time that “substantial funds would have to be made available before any permanent use similar to the boxing club can be carried out on a permanent basis”.