Attractive, historic Lorrha gets €239,000 for new interpretive centre

There was excellent news this week for Lorrha when it was announced that €239,000 has been awarded for the building of an interpretive centre in the village.

Cllr Michael O'Meara said he is very happy with the news. “We have a tremendous committee in Lorrha,” he remarked. A lot of hard work has been done in the village on this project. It is only the best of the best projects that get through.

“Lorrha is a very old ecclesiastical area. I always claim it's on a par with Clonmacnoise and has been untapped. This new Centre will be a huge success and will bring employment. It has been a long running saga, which thankfully is now entering its final stage.

“Myself and Deputy Michael Lowry have been working on this project for the last two years, in conjunction with the Scéal Community Hall committee. We had a quantity surveyor on site recently and plan to engage a contractor soon. Work should start in early Spring. The Centre will be a new building constructed as an annex to the existing hall. The Interpretive Centre will exhibit old artefacts, and will house a community shop which will sell local produce and arts & crafts. The funding was issued under the Town and Village Renewal scheme.”

Cllr Joe Hannigan joked that “if Lorrha didn't get the town and village renewal money there would have been a hanging in Lorrha!”

The Scéal Community said the funding will go towards the creation of a permanent home for the village’s only shop and an extension of the community hall. “This very welcome funding,” said the Group in a statement, “will go towards extending the community hall and towards renovating the existing space at St Ruadhan's Hall, Lorrha, to provide a community centre and remote working hub that complements the existing community services (café and shop) provided by the community centre.”

Established in 2016 in response to the closure of the last shop in the village, Scéal (Social Community Enterprise for the Advancement of Lorrha/Rathcabbin) has evolved over the last six years to manage a seven-day per week community shop in St Ruadhán’s Hall, and to promote the cultural and historical background of the parish.

In 2019, grant funding of €149,000 was allocated to the project from the Department of Rural & Community Development. However, the onset of the pandemic and spiralling construction costs delayed the project and that grant funding expired.

There had been growing apprehension in the parish in recent months over the future of the development, but this inclusion in the Town and Village Renewal Scheme is a welcome boost.

Scéal said it is envisioned that the ‘Buy A Brick’ scheme will also be resumed to top up the local funding required to bring the project to fruition.

The committee said it wishes to thank all local politicians and volunteers who have engaged with them in their efforts to secure this funding.

Chair of Scéal, Patrick Cahalan, described it as a significant announcement for the parish:

“The inclusion of the Scéal shop redevelopment in the Town and Village Renewal Scheme is hugely welcomed, but is also a significant relief for our community.

“It has been frustrating that we haven’t been able to push ahead with construction of the project in recent years, due to the pandemic and rising costs. The allocation of this grant funding will allow us to proceed with the construction phase, and develop a permanent home for our fantastic local service.

“Thanks to everybody who has put their shoulder to the wheel in helping this grant funding to become a reality. We’re very excited about what the future holds for the Scéal shop, and its potential impact on our parish.”