Dundalk will be home to a new concert hall equidistant from Dublin and Belfast when work on a €6.5 million refurbishment of Dundalk town hall is completed later this year. The concert hall will be strategically placed to attract major artists; in the 1960s Pavarotti sang in the old town hall, a listed building, before he became an international star.
Poor public facilities and a severe lack of appropriate office space for the 60 staff in Dundalk Town Council were the main reasons behind the decision to seek funding for the refurbishment works.
The arts officer for Co Louth, Mr Brian Harten, and the town clerk, Mr Frank Pentony, applied for special funding provided under the National Development Plan to the Department of Arts, Culture, Gaeltacht and the Islands last year and secured €2.5 million specifically for the arts.
"This is the single biggest capital expenditure on the arts in Louth, Cavan or Monaghan and when it is completed, the town hall will be a regional centre for the arts in the north-east," Mr Harten said.
The town hall will retain its current layout and cater for audiences of up to 690 people. New lighting and sound systems, a new fly system, stage curtains and a new video communication link system are some of the major additions to the theatre.
Its popular Basement Gallery will be quadrupled . "It has always been a breeding ground for artists and we are always willing to take risks with exhibitions and intend to continue to do so," Mr Harten said.
Mr Pentony said all the town services would be in one building The new buildings and arts centre are expected to reopen to the public by the end of this year.