Old church the ‘ideal location’ for music museum

Two of Mullingar’s best known musicians have voiced their support for a Chamber of Commerce proposal that the former Presbyterian church on Castle Street be redeveloped into a museum celebrating the town’s rich musical heritage.

In its recent submission on the Mullingar Area Plan to Westmeath County Council, the chamber said the landmark building would be the “ideal location” for “a music museum in the town centre to record and market the incredible achievements of Niall Horan and others who have contributed enormously to this at a local, regional, national and global level”.

“We feel this is very important to be an ambition for the town in the coming years and would reinforce the town centre and tourism amenity. We have already indicated that an obvious location for this would be the old church on Castle Street that is currently for sale and would encourage Westmeath County Council to explore this.”

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Mick Foster from Foster and Allen told the Westmeath Examiner that he thinks “it’s a great idea”.

“Mullingar has a world of singers and musicians that have made it internationally, starting with Joe Dolan and working up to Niall Horan.

“There are not too many towns that could say that they have as many internationally recognised singers and musicians as Mullingar. I don’t think there were would be any problems getting stuff for it.”

Currently preparing for Foster and Allen’s upcoming tour, which starts on December 27 in The Greville Arms Hotel, Mick says the museum could provide visitors with audio guides that could the play the hits of Mullingar’s most celebrated musicians as they went through the building. He also said that the former Presbyterian church’s central location makes it an attractive site for the proposed museum and could help boost the local economy.

Joe Dolan would be one of the main attractions if the museum project goes ahead, and his nephew Ray says that establishment of a music museum in Mullingar is long overdue. “It’s a super idea. We would be delighted and excited if it happens. I have been promoting the town through our Facebook page and one thing that keeps popping up is the live music scene and the rich history of music in Mullingar, from Mullingar Town Band to traditional music and all the local artists down through the years.

“Young artists keep coming up. I always say that music flows through the River Brosna and comes up through the earth of Mullingar. I don’t know how or when it started, but Mullingar is a real music town and the most important thing is that we keep promoting it.”

The chamber spokesperson for Economic Development, Enterprise and Tourism, John Geoghegan, told the Westmeath Examiner that it is “high time” that town’s rich musical heritage is showcased in a dedicated museum.

“We have an incredibly history of achievements in the music industry, with Niall Horan, Joe Dolan, Foster and Allen, Bressie and Blizzards. There was a discussion around ‘is it possible to open a music museum in Mullingar’ and I think it is.

“I think the building on Castle Street is an ideal location. It’s up for sale at the moment and it’s not priced too high, I think, and I think it would be a superb location for a museum in the middle of the town.

“Town centres are under siege from online retail and retailers are suffering enormously. We need to be creative about how we manage town centres and what we put into them. I’d love to see a museum in the centre of Mullingar to commemorate the town’s musicians and to bring in 50,000 visitors a year.

Mr Geoghegan believes that when it comes to operating the museum, he sees Westmeath County Council as “the logical stakeholder”.

“Maybe the council could also discuss it with Fáilte Ireland and between them maybe they could find the budget for this project. The building could also double up as the town’s tourism office.

“There are several opportunities here. It is all about getting stakeholders working together to see can it be done. We had the best fleadhs ever in Mullingar and I think it is high time that we did something to commemorate music.”

Mr Geoghegan also revealed that Destination Mullingar, the chamber led initiative established earlier this year to look at ways to maximise the town’s tourism potential, is to appoint a tourism consultant. “We recently held the second meeting of Destination Mullingar. it was well supported by all of the hotels and everyone in leisure and hospitality. Representatives from Fáilte Ireland and Waterways Ireland were there and the council’s tourism officer Una Doris.

“We had a really constructive meeting. We agreed that we are going to appoint a tourism consultant to analyse Mullingar to see what we need to do.”

National Transportation Museum

In its submission on the pre-draft Mullingar Local Area Plan, the chamber also said that Mullingar would be a suitable location for a national transportation museum next to train station. It added that it submitted a report to the council about the tourism potential of a transportation museum in the town over two years ago, but had not received a response.

“We feel this is also important if the town is to really have a vision for tourism, leisure and hospitality,” the chamber said.

The chamber also noted that the area plan did not include any reference to improvements in lakeside amenities, “an area that has seen no real investment over the past 20 years”.

“These amenities need to be developed in an environmentally sensitive manner to improve access to and enjoyment of this beautiful blue infrastructure.”

The chamber also said that the council should consider opening a camper van site in Blackhall or another tract land in the vicinity of the town centre.