Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys, brought the curtain down on her tour of Laois on Monday evening by turning the sod on the Market House refurbishment in Portarlington.
The Minister was in Laois as part of the government’s ‘Our Rural Future’ roadshow, which also took in Portlaoise, Mountmellick, Timahoe and Carrigmeal.
Portarlington’s Market House was taken on a long-term lease by Laois County Council in 2020.
Owned by the Ryan family and operated as a garage for a long number of years, the project has been granted more than €1 million under the ‘Our Rural Future’ programme.
“The Market House will be re-imagined as the central focus of the town with a range of public and community uses including community meeting space and an event and exhibition space,” said a statement announcing that grant in April 2021.
An Cathaoirleach of Laois County Council, Cllr Paschal McEvoy began the afternoon’s speeches, saying:
“This project is an example of Laois County Council’s commitment to the sustainable development of Portarlington and its communities.
“The building started life almost 300 years ago. In its time, it has been a market house, court house and even a garage in recent times.
“The project will see the refurbishing and reimagining of the Market House building to create meeting rooms, offices, and public spaces.
“The refurbished building will interact positively with the surrounding space, and be the stimulus for the regeneration of the square, enhancing its contribution to the town of Portarlington.”
Also in attendance on Monday afternoon were Kildare South TDs, Cathal Berry and Martin Heydon, for whom Portarlington is part of their constituency.
An Cathaoirleach then handed things over to Minister Humphreys who said she was delighted to be in Portarlington “on the final stop of what has been a wonderful visit to County Laois today”.
“The last time I was in Portarlington, I had a lovely visit to Derryounce and I was able to launch that lovely lakes and trails amenity.
“I’m delighted to be here again in Portarlington to turn the sod on the Market House and Square Project.
“This project is all about revitalising and re-imagining the historical town centre here in Portarlington; and in fairness, when I was driving through the town, I thought to myself ‘yeah, it could do with a bit of a face-lift.’
“This will be a place where people of all ages, including visitors to the town, can come and meet, and attend events and exhibitions.
“When the project is complete, it will act as a catalyst for the regeneration of the square, and will no doubt stimulate further development here in the town centre.
“This project is a perfect example of what we’re all working together to achieve under the government’s five-year policy, ‘Our Rural Future;’ revitalising our towns and villages, making them better places to live, to work, to raise a family, to visit, and to invest.
“It’s about breathing new life into rural Ireland.
“I would like to thank the building’s owners, Barry and Siobhán Ryan.
“I’m turning the sod today and I hope I’ll be back next year to cut the ribbon.”
Mr Gerry Murphy, Deputy Chief Executive of Laois County Council concluded the speeches, saying:
“This is a project that will bring huge dividends to the town of Portarlington and the surrounding area.
“There has been a number of stages to where we are today. The biggest stage was the signing of a 30-year lease.
“We then went into the next phase which was the preperation of a regenerative strategy for the town, called The Portarlington Regeneration Strategy 2040.
“We then brought the project to tender phase; and we expect to finalise the appointment of the contractor towards the end of next week, and to be in a position to commence work very, very shortly.
“Minister Humphreys said she’d like to be here to open the refurbished building; hopefully that will be early in 2024.”
Minister Humphreys laid out a bed of mortar on two concrete blocks in a re-imagining of the turning of the sod ceremony, and finished her tour of Laois with a well deserved ice cream, before calling it a day.
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