Public urged to get involved in important day for Birr

BIRR 20:20 has issued a call this week, urging members of the public to join the Birr Creative Court project to help shape vibrant creative spaces and studios for the community.
The group is pointing out that planning permission has been applied for and now it needs the community's help!
With this in mind the group is hosting two Artist Facilitation Days:
The first will be on the 4th of September at Birr Theatre and Arts Centre & the old Courthouse, from 10am to 5pm.
The focus will be on “Making/Creating Space”: On this day everyone will concentrate on the individual creative and practical working space needs of artists and creative practitioners. The day will include visiting the Creative Court building and responding to the physical constraints and opportunities of the heritage building. The day will also focus on the rhythm of different art/creative work and how to share resources and space.
On the 18th of September there will be a Bus trip visit to Callan town in Co Kilkenny to view their artistic spaces & studios: from 9.30am to 7pm.
Callan has established itself as a hub for artistic activity with a network of organisations and collectives, including KCAT Arts Centre, Equinox Theatre Company, Abhainn Rí Festival, Fennelly's of Callan, Monkeyshine Theatre, Asylum Productions, Tony O'Malley Residency and most recently The Powerhouse. The visit is an opportunity to experience the spaces and places and hear about how Callan's creative ecology is sustained.
A third day will be held on 5th of October at Birr Theatre and Arts Centre: 10am to 5pm:
Operating Models: How will the Creative Court operate and be managed? How can local, national, and international artistic ambitions be fostered? This day will focus on thinking about the space's long-term ambitions and how it has the potential to support local creative talent and shape the path of future generations.
“Get Involved!” said the Birr 20:20 statement. “Your input is vital. Attend our engagement days to share your ideas and vision for the new arts hub. Spread the word! Invite your fellow Creatives!
FREE - Tickets Required
Register at: Birr Theatre and Arts Centre
Ph: 057 912 2911
www.birrtheatre.com/courthouse
Join us and make a difference!”
In the Courthouse Conservation Masterplan commissioned by Offaly County Council and carried out by Howley Hayes Crowley (in 2021), it states that “The south wing houses the gaol, consisting of eight cells, four to each floor, and a larger vaulted cell on the ground floor at the west end. Above this larger cell is a room without brick vaulting which may have been used by guards.
“The two rooms to the east end of the south range, at ground and first floor level, contain domestic fireplaces, and likely served as the residence for the bridewell keepers, noted as a Mr and Mrs Platt in the late nineteenth century (Legal Offaly).
“A treadmill was also installed in the Birr bridewell (Courthouse). These devices, first seen in England in 1818, were used for punishment or ‘hard labour’, forcing prisoners to repeatedly climb steps to facilitate the rotation of a wheel.
“Birr courthouse was built in 1810 to provide a quarter sessions for the town but it ceased to function as a courthouse in 2013 when court proceedings moved to Tullamore. In 2021 the OPW handed the building over to Offaly County Council and it is now in need of full refurbishment.
“During the recent recession in Ireland it was determined that all the courthouses in Offaly, with the exception of Tullamore, should close. Improvement works scheduled for the building in 2011 also failed to materialise and the courthouse finally shut its doors in 2013, during a three year period, which saw the closure of a number of local garda stations, post offices and other municipal buildings around the country. These important and socially significant municipal buildings were often placed in prominent positions within Irish towns, and viable future uses must be found for them in the coming years.”
An initial scoping report, titled Birr Creative Court, was prepared in June 2019, by Birr 20:20, which established the potential use of the site as a “creative space”, “to facilitate sustainable collaboration between local and visiting practitioners, and the wider community, in the pursuit of creative excellence”.