LARC Loughrea Arts Recreation & Culture

08/05/2026

On track for opening in October this year 🎭

“Local businesses, individuals, and organisations can express their interest in office space rentals by completing the Expression of Interest Form.”

Requests for further information can be sent to [email protected]

Loughrea Town Hall Nears Completion

Galway County Council’s Urban and Rural Regeneration Team announces the pending completion of the Loughrea Town Hall. Following several years of dereliction, the Loughrea Town Hall’s exterior scaffolding was recently removed during the ongoing refurbishment works to repurpose the building, revealing a fresh coat of paint and a modern new look.

The building’s renovation includes accessibility to a new dedicated workspace floor with canteen, including two 2-seater and two 4-seater pods, a meeting room, reception desk and break out space; a multipurpose room with basic kitchenette; and performance space with a seated capacity of 120, complete with public reception area to welcome guests. It is expected that the renovation will be completed in October 2026.

The facility will be managed by Galway County Council and aims to provide Loughrea with a hub for community programs and enterprise development. Local businesses, individuals, and organisations can express their interest in office space rentals by completing the Expression of Interest Form. Requests for further information can be sent to [email protected]

20/03/2026

What a fantastic turn out for the St Patrick’s Day parade, great to see everyone despite the rather wet conditions 😉!

Massive thanks to members of the Seamus O'Kelly Players, The Men's Shed and Finna Construction who helped build and transport the float; John Lawlor, Mike Dillon, Noel Donohue, Colin Barrett and Domhnal Spellman.

05/02/2026

Nice coverage in today’s The Galway Advertiser

This week members of Loughrea Arts Recreation and Culture (LARC ) were given a tour along with members of Galway Co Co, facilitated by the site manager from Finna Construction. Although the Town Hall is still a building site, the emerging layout is already becoming quite apparent.

31/01/2026

LARC are happy to share some images and update on the progress with the Town Hall.

This week members of LARC were given a tour along with members of Galway CoCo, which was facilitated by Finna constructions site manager.

Although the Town Hall is still a building site, the emerging layout is already becoming quite apparent.

One of the most obvious changes is the entrance layout. It’s still located at the Church st end of the building, but it has been opened into a much larger, more spacious foyer-far more befitting for a theatre entrance.

The Town Hall’s original building has been completely stripped back, exposing rough, aged stone walls and layers of peeling paint that reveal the grand sweep of its history.

The contrast between the historic fabric and the newly introduced surfaces is particularly striking. Metal stud ceiling grids, cable trays, metal decking, and partition studs—along with drywalls stacked and ready for installation—clearly signal the building’s preparation for the next phase of development.

The ground floor, once ramped to give the tiered seating previously enjoyed by all cinema goers, has been levelled, currently with a sub floor awaiting the installation of underfloor heating.

While the building is currently lit with temporary construction lighting, the amount of available natural light from the numerous windows throughout gave a real insight of where the light will fall through this south facing building.

Upstairs, what was once a ballroom, with the best sprung floor in Connaught, also awaits a refit. The original wooden ceiling and red structural steel are in perfect condition having stood the test of their 164 years. This will remain completely exposed giving the ultimate industrial aesthetic. New timber windows designed to replicate the original sash that had fallen into disrepair have been installed.

The old, rotting and dilapidated annex is gone – demolished- and in its place now stand three new floors of spaces to accommodate and complement our theatre and enterprise space.

Each floor will be serviced with a lift & stairs, toilet and canteen facilities, some storage and a fire escape.

But the big win for us all in rebuilding the annex is the additional “Mezzanine floor” a wonderful spacious room, with two large windows looking up church st which could accommodate smaller intimate gatherings and meetings.

With just seven months of construction remaining, the vision for Loughrea Town Hall is rapidly becoming a reality. This project is more than just a renovation; it is the careful stitching together of our town’s storied past with a vibrant, modern future. From the industrial charm of the original ballroom to the light-filled potential of the new annex, this building is preparing to resume its role as the beating heart of our community. We look forward to the day the scaffolding falls away, revealing a space where the next generation of Loughrea’s stories will be told.

29/01/2026

🗞️ 🗞️🗞️NEWS🗞️ 🗞️🗞️

LARC will be visiting the Town Hall (building site) for an update on progress this week which we will share with you, keep on eye here for an update