Castleblayney Town Hall

Castleblayney Town Hall
Halla an Bhaile Bhaile na Lorgan
Castleblayney Town Hall
Castleblayney Town Hall Location within Ireland
General information
Architectural style	Italianate style
Address	Market Square, Castleblayney
Country	Ireland
Coordinates	54°07′13″N6°44′02″W / 54.1204°N 6.7339°W / 54.1204; -6.7339
Completed	1790

Castleblayney Town Hall (Irish : Halla an Bhaile Bhaile na Lorgan) is a municipal building in the Market Square at Castleblayney, County Monaghan, Ireland. It has served as a market house, as a town hall and as a courthouse, but is currently disused and standing derelict.

History

The building was commissioned as a market house for the town by Andrew Blayney, 11th Baron Blayney, whose seat was at Blayney Castle, and was intended to support the local linen trade. ^[1] The site he selected was an elevated location in the centre of the Market Square. It was designed in the Italianate style, built in rubble masonry with a cement render finish and was completed in its original form around 1790. ^{[2] [3]}

The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of eight bays facing southwest onto the Market Square. The central section of four bays featured a loggia with four round headed openings on the ground floor, and four sash windows behind a parapet and a large recess on the first floor. The end sections of two bays each, which were slightly projected forward, were fenestrated by slightly recessed round headed windows on the ground floor and by sash windows with window sills on the first floor. The rear elevation of the building, which was accessed further down the slope of the hill, incorporated a basement floor which was arcaded, so that markets could be held, and was unrendered. At roof level, there was a bell tower with an ogee-shaped dome at the northwest end of the building. Internally, the principal room was a large assembly room on the first floor. ^[4]

A three-bay courthouse extension, which was projected outward at the rear of the building, was added in 1856. ^{[2] [5]} After the town commissioners were replaced by an urban district council in 1899, the new council adopted the building as its meeting place. ^{[6] [7]} The council continued to operate from the building until the late 20th century, ^[8] when it relocated to offices in Main Street. ^{[9] [10]} Monaghan County Council then condemned the building as unsafe and local hearings of the district court and of the circuit court were relocated to Hope Castle in 1997. ^{[11] [12]}

A statue of the country singer, Tom McBride, was unveiled at the back of the building by President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, in September 2018. ^{[13] [14] [15]}

Deterioration

After the collapse of an internal wall in 2019, Monaghan County Council instructed contractors to stabilise the exterior walls and to remove the partially collapsed roof. ^[16] In April 2023, Monaghan County Council commissioned DHB Architects to prepare design proposals for the refurbishment of the building. ^{[17] [18]}

References

1. "Castleblaney". The Irish Aesthete. 27 July 2019. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
2. "Castleblayney Courthouse and Market House, Market Square, Onomy, Castleblayney, County Monaghan". National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
3. "County Monaghan, Castleblayney, Court House". www.dia.ie. Dictionary of Irish Architects. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
4. Lewis, Samuel (1840). A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland. p. 290.
5. "1866 – Town Hall, Castleblayney, County Monaghan". Archiseek. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
6. "Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898". 2nd revised edition of the statutes . 1909.
7. Tenders. Vol. 91. The Builder. 1906. p. 582. Plans and specifications…can be seen…at office of Mr Brd. M'Ardle, Clerk of Council, Courthouse, Castleblayney
8. Parliamentary Debates. Oireachtas. 1982. p. 223. Castleblaney: Courthouse, Castleblaney, County Monaghan
9. "Proposed sale of former Castleblayney Town Council Offices" (PDF). Monaghan County Council. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
10. Variation No. 19 – Core Strategy. Monaghan County Council. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
11. "New court building for Castleblayney to replace unsafe town hall site". The Irish Times. 2 May 2008. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
12. "Castleblayney Market House and Markey Square: Public Engagement Report". AP&E. p. 6. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
13. "Celebrations tinged with sadness as Big Tom sculpture is unveiled". The Irish Independent. 24 September 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
14. "Statue of country star 'Big Tom' McBride hailed as fitting tribute". ITV News. 23 September 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
15. "'Big Tom' McBride statue unveiling". The Irish Times. 23 September 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
16. "Council says delay in making Castleblaney Market House stable is because of its deteriorating condition". 17 August 2019. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
17. "Public Information Event – Castleblayney Market House & Market Square". Monaghan County Council. 18 April 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
18. "Castleblayney Residents To Shape Local Regeneration Project". Construction Ireland. 19 April 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.