SPECIAL FEATURE: 'New notions needed': Reimagining the centre of Tullamore

Sometime in the 1830s, the architect William Murray (1789-1849), best known for designing lunatic asylums all around Ireland, presented a quick outline of a new public square in Tullamore which would be bounded on three sides by fine houses and dominated on the fourth by the imposing portico of the recently erected County Courthouse. 

The title of his drawing’ Thoughts for a Square at Tullamore, Ireland facing the Courthouse to be called ‘The Beaujolais’ suggests that it was not an actual commission but more likely a broad brush and quickly executed response to a remark by Lady Beaujolais Bury the wife of the local grandee, perhaps exchanged at a social gathering. Architects do this a lot to get business and Murray may have been trying to reconnect commercially with the family who had given his cousin Francis Johnston such valuable and prestigious commissions as Charleville Forest and St Catherine’s Church.

Of course Murray’s elegant scheme was never realised and was to be the last proposal for a civic design set piece in Tullamore for some time. In the 1950s, the urban planner Frank Gibney suggested the creation of a parkland setting for the Church of the Assumption but this notion was eventually shelved and for the following seventy years no further interventions which would combine coherent built form with public benefits were to be advanced and the planning of the town remained firmly in the hands of engineers whose principal spatial concern was the accommodation of the motor car.

Thankfully radical change is now imminent. Soon, internationally respected firms of planners and architects will begin to formulate regeneration proposals for the town centre and for the first time since the early 19th century give urban design its rightful place.These professionals will bring their own skills but will invite the views and local knowledge of citizens and stakeholders. Hopefully this will stimulate lots of creative new ideas on what the town might look like twenty years from now. Emulating Murray’s ‘Thoughts for a New Square’ I would like to kick off the debate with my own ‘Thoughts for a New Riverside Park at Tullamore to be called ‘John Wesley Lawn’. My sketch is prompted by the opportunity presented by the combination of a significant site with several new initiatives:

A Key Location 

Located at the very geographical and historical heart of the town, the lands between O’Connor Square and Church Street, presently occupied by an unsightly ruin, the long hidden 18th c.bridge across the Tullamore River and the surface car park of the County Library, will play a critical role. They are bounded  by the large open field at the rear of the Methodist Chapel.

While the creation of a link across them has been mooted for thirty seven years, they would also be an ideal location for responding to some exciting new initiatives recently promoted by the Government and Offaly County Council.

Living River Project

Whatever natural character the Tullamore River ever had was lost in the 1950s when on foot of the Brosna Drainage Scheme, it was channelised, deepened and reduced to an almost hidden drain running through the backlands of the town.

In February 2020 Offaly County Council initiated the Living River Project to increase amenity and recreational opportunities along its banks, restore its ecological integrity and improve its biodiversity and water quality.

The first phase comprising a downstream Wetland Park has just opened to acclaim. The Council now plans to raise the bed of the river upstream of the old bridge behind the Library to create greater turbulence in the flow. This will increase edge habitats and benefit wildlife by bringing a greater diversity of fish and plants. The watercourse will be realigned and enhanced by new planting to make it  more natural and sinuous. The eastern bank will be lowered to river level to allow greater access and appreciation. 

A delightful sylvan riverside scene will be created and for the first time ever, the potential for seamlessly integrating the amenity of the river with the daily life of the town will become possible.

Intensive Usage of Central Lands

In February of 2022 the Government launched its radical ‘Town Centres First’ policy.

To respond to our climate change commitments, town centres will be made more attractive places to live, work and play. A more intensive use of the most centrally located sites will be demanded and a mix of uses, particularly residential, encouraged. This should result in the delivery of high quality public spaces and in particular walking and cycling will be promoted. 

Our Rural Future 2021-2025

Recently issued, this visionary Governmental programme is lyrical regarding locally produced food  and is particularly supportive of the role which farmers markets, farm shops and food emporiums can play in the revitalisation of our towns.

A New Amenity

The opportunity which the combination of these new policies presents is that the lands between O’Connor Square and Church Street, which are actually the most central in Tullamore, should not just end up as a mundane paved walkway but be developed as an intensive multi use development capitalising on their enhanced river frontage and contributing to the further success of Offaly