Athlone gallery completed ahead of schedule

A glass block, white space gallery on the banks of the Shannon at Athlone, which cost €3.5m, is completed ahead of its official opening date of Nov 29.

And it’s also the first purpose-built gallery of its kind in the Midlands, as well as being the first new visual art gallery to be opened in the country in over three years.

The new building, an extension onto the 19th century, Father Matthew Hall, was designed by leading international architect, Keith Williams, who also created the civic offices and library buildings in the town, as well as the Army Memorial there, within the last ten years.

The new space, renamed the Luan Gallery, (from Baile Áth Luain) is an extension to the old Father Matthew Hall in the town, a 19th century building close to the famous bridge and with a superb, quayside location. The gallery makes the most of its location and William’s design creates an integrated boardwalk onto the Shannon — ‘a river ambulatory’ which links the old and new buildings in a cohesive space on the river bank.

Running to 575 sq metres or over 6,000 sq ft, the new gallery is run by Athlone Art and Heritage Ltd, and has been funded by the Borders Midlands West (BMW) Regional Assembly and the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht who provided €2m with the balance of €1.4m from Athlone Town Council.

The new gallery will work in close co-operation with IMMA, (Irish Museum of Modern Art), Dublin and will promote a ‘dynamic contemporary visual art programme of established and emerging artists’. The gallery will open with an IMMA exhibition with Irish and international artists including Shane Cullen and Daphne Wright.

The gallery space is highly flexible for use as theatre, cinema and lecture space and as a forum for literature, music and drama workshops, and black out facilities will also enable digital art exhibitions. Details: www.athloneartandheritage.ie