Householders in Ballinrobe are asked to give generously as a door-to-door collection gets under way in the campaign to rebuild Ballinrobe Town Hall. A target of €400,000 in business and private contributions has been set as Ballinrobe aims to restore the old hall, which closed in 1996. A team of approximately 40 collectors will visit every house in the parish to seek support through a variety of suitable fundraising options.
“We estimate that we will receive between €800,000 and €900,000 in local and central Government and agency funding, which will require Ballinrobe to come up with approximately €400,000 to fund the project. The overall cost has been independently costed at just short of €1.3m,” said Michael Sweeney, chairman, Ballinrobe Civic, Arts and Amenity Co Ltd, at the launch.
“It is not going to be easy but with effort comes attainment. We are calling on everybody with a love of Ballinrobe to support this project. To be blunt, this project needs you to dig deep into your pockets. The Town Hall will not build itself.
“As a community, we have this opportunity now to invest in our town for current and future generations. Let’s not miss it. Already we have had an extremely positive and generous response from sections of the business community who wish to support this project.”
The proposal is to build a hall with a gross floor area of 1,000sq m. It will consist of an auditorium and main hall area with seating for more than 400 people. Building is expected to start in late 2017 / early 2018 with an 18-month building timeline. There is provision for a lighting gantry, incorporated sound systems, and acoustic ceilings in order to maximise the variety of uses from the point of view of musical entertainment. The plans were drawn up by Ballinrobe-based chartered architectural and planning consultant Donal McCormack.
