Commitment given to refurbish Roscommon Courthouse
Roscommon-Galway Fianna Fáil TD, Martin Daly, told Shannonside FM that Minister for Justice, Jim O'Callaghan TD, has committed to funding the Office of Public Works to refurbish the courthouse, which has been closed for over two years.
Mr Daly said Mr O'Callaghan had committed to including the project in the National Development Plan. A review of the plan is expected to be completed by the end of July.
Sittings of Roscommon District Court and Roscommon Circuit Court have taken place in Castlerea or at the former Fairyland Dance Hall, on the Racecourse Road in Roscommon town.
Designed by Sir Richard Morrison and completed in 1828, the courthouse was gutted by a major fire in 1882 but was eventually restored.
The building also served as the meeting place for Roscommon County Council before it moved to Áras an Contae in 2015.
Due to its dilapidated state, sittings were moved from the courthouse to the former Fairyland Dance Hall in December. Refurbishing the venue to facilitate the move cost over €1.1 million.
Judge James Faughnan has complained about the acoustics in the venue and called for a second courthouse to be made available.
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