New Tullamore Arts Centre is 'built to the highest standard'

A number of councillors praised the new Esker Arts Centre in Tullamore in the highest terms during a recent meeting of the County Council.

A clearly enthused Cllr Tony McCormack told the meeting that the new centre “is a beautiful building. I was very impressed by it when I visited. The workmanship is fantastic. I would go so far as to say that there is no building in Tullamore like it. It is done to an international standard.”

Director of Services Sharon Kennedy pointed out that everybody is keenly looking forward to the opening of the centre. “I think it would be a good idea to invite the Artistic Director Seán Walsh to come in to us during our next meeting and chat to us about the project and about the programme of events for the coming year.

“A lot of the work has been done. Some painting work has still to be done on the front of the building and signage has to be installed. This will be done in the next couple of weeks.”

The Esker Arts Centre is finally opening its doors to the public on April the 15th, after decades of people trying to bring it into existence. A number of community groups and individuals have all flown the flag for the project over the years. Bringing Offaly County Council on board was the essential ingredient which gave the project a turbo charge.

Seán Walsh has 17 years of experience engaging with communities and he played a big role in opening Ballina Arts Centre. Seán wants the centre to be a focus for creative activity and creative people in Offaly, “so they will have a place to go.”