Birr, one of the most gracious towns in the midlands, has added another wonder to its stock of delights with the restoration of the old Oxmantown Hall.
Near-derelict for a number of years, it has been fully restored and can seat 220. Within the next few months, it will act as a cinema, because Birr is one of the few towns of its size in the State without one.
Emma Nee, venue manager of the Birr Theatre and Arts Centre, now based in the restored hall, explained the background to the development this week.
The hall was designed by Cassandra Countess of Rosse and paid for by her husband, the fourth Earl of Rosse, in 1888. "It was purpose-built as a theatre and concert hall and was based on German architecture. It was built by a local company," she says.
"Although Birr has had numerous halls, Oxmantown Hall represented a fine theatre in those Victorian days and since then, it has housed many fine performances." In its early days, the hall belonged to the Church of Ireland and was used for functions of different kinds, including concerts, recitals and flower shows as well as frequent dramatic productions.
During the 1930s it was sold to a private individual who continued to run it as a centre for entertainment, for dancing and for travelling groups. "All the big names of those days would have played there - Jimmy O'Dea, Maureen Potter and Anew McMaster," she says.
In the early 1970s the theatre was leased by the founder of Birr Stage Guild, the late J.I. Fanning, for development as a theatre. Plans to turn it into a permanent theatre facility for the town were drawn up by the architect, Michael Scott. Unfortunately, due to lack of funding, that scheme fell through.
By the beginning of the 1980s the hall was no longer being used as a dance venue and local and visiting theatrical groups were using other locations, including the hotels, to stage shows.
That changed when the hall was purchased in 1993 by the Birr Scientific and Heritage Foundantion. It leased the building to Birr Stage Guild and it set about restoring the building four years ago.
"There was tremendous support from the local people who became deeply involved in fundraising. Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands gave £250,000 and Offaly LEADER development company gave £30,000," she says.
"In the end, with local contributions like the architect, solicitor and other professions giving their services free, the total would be around £400,000." She says the theatre is now a wonderful venue for staging productions or concerts because it has state-of-the-art lighting and other facilities. The high ceiling of the building means the acoustics are also top class.
The official opening will take place in a few weeks, Emma says, and plans are already advanced to form a film club to show movies there because Birr has no cinema.
She is extremely proud that the people of Birr, through their hard work and dedication, have given Birr and Offaly its only modern theatre and arts centre. It can be contacted at 0509-22911/22893