Exciting plans for Longford's Connolly Barracks

A large crowd turned out at Longford County Council headquarters recently for the public information evening centring around 'Connolly Barracks Reimagined’. 

On display were several large image boards showcasing 3D graphics of the building, the proposed vision for the exterior, as well as artist’s impressions of what the museum will look like once completed. 

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Having secured €7 million in THRIVE funding for the ambitious project, the council’s plans for the three-storey former army barracks - a protected structure spanning just over 18 acres - will feature a full renovation of both the interior and exterior, as well as the inclusion of a community coffee shop, creative makerspace, museum, meeting rooms, a podcast and recording studio and music rooms. 

A performance space and training facilities will be situated to the rear of the structure. Sustainability will also be at the forefront of the project with eco-features such as rainwater harvesting and solar panels included in the plans. 

Vacant since 2009, Connolly Barracks is expected to open its doors to the public in 2027. To get to this stage of planning however has taken two years and a gargantuan amount of work. 

Even the application form alone was a mammoth task involving a team.   

Town Regeneration Officer, Lorraine O’Connor, was involved from the beginning, back when the project was bullet points on a page. The museum space is one Lorraine is particularly excited to see come to fruition.  

“We carried out public consultations to establish what people wanted from the building, and a museum space and community space both came through very strongly. 

“There’s two elements to the museum which will tell the story of Longford, one is the history of Longford and the other is music. Since I started in the role of regeneration 8 years ago, people in the community have said to me that Longford needs a museum space, something to show the history of the county and to tell its story." 

“That’s now going to be represented in one wing of the building. I’m really excited to see that come to life." 

“We’ve been working for two years to get the project to this stage. It’s so exciting to see what we’re going to be doing in Connolly Barracks.” 

Executive Architect for Longford County Council, Ciara Reynolds, explained the council “worked at risk” on the project for some time as they didn’t know if they would be successful in their bid to secure funding. 

“We had funding for the design stage, and once we got it, we could continue. Everyone got a new momentum then to keep going because we were in uncertain territory with regards to funding. 

“We went ahead with it anyway though because we were so passionate about the building and the site is so important to Longford.”

“To have it for community use is so important; to open the gates to a building that has always had quite a strong boundary away from the town, and to get people into it and to celebrate Longford.”

Emphasising the council’s dedication to involving the community in each step along the way, Ciara said the public information evening was “about the community and trying to include opinions and ideas” to carry on through the next stage. The project will now go to tender next month. 

Connolly Barracks Reimagined is co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union through the ERDF Southern, Eastern and Midland Regional Programme 2021–2027.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme

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