The maximum grant of €3m has been approved to Louth County Council, who will match the funding, to extend and refurbish the Dominican Church in Drogheda to provide for a brand new state of the art library.
Local Fine Gael TD, Fergus O’Dowd, has called it ‘a landmark day for Drogheda’, saying Minister Humphreys has ‘firmly stepped up to the plate and is backing Drogheda in its fight to develop our town’s amenities’.
“The proposed design for the Dominican Church and Priory will be not only to preserve the unique church features, but will keep the original character of the building and create a statement community library facility in the centre of Drogheda,” says the Louth TD.“The space will consist of 1,077sqm indoor space inclusive of new mezzanine floor and a possible 1,125sqm of outdoor public realm space, with a myriad of uses, an oasis for people to connect, engage, immerse in and be inspired by the rich cultural fabric of Drogheda”.
The funding will be delivered through the Libraries Capital Programme 2023-2027 following the council’s application last year.
“Next month the council will hold their 30th anniversary celebrations at their library in Stockwell Street, the staff and library users will now be able to look forward to 30 more years of service in a brand new state of art library located in the heart of the proposed Westgate Vision Regeneration plan,” he adds.
“I’m thrilled that such a historic landmark will now be safeguarded and developed into the future, this will attract more people to our town centre and provide the wonderful library staff with modern and effective facilities to develop their service into the future. I’m also delighted to see my that previous recommendations for this historic church to remain in community use and serve as a brand new library have now come to fruition.”