Town Hall Theatre (Galway)

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Town Hall Theatre
Amharclann Halla na Cathrach
Town Hall Theatre
Town Hall Theatre (Galway) is located in Galway
Town Hall Theatre (Galway)
Location within Galway
Former namesGalway Town Courthouse
Galway Town Hall
General information
TypeTheatre
Architectural style
Neoclassical
Location1 Courthouse Square, Galway, Ireland
Coordinates53°16′34″N 9°03′14″W / 53.276177°N 9.053985°W / 53.276177; -9.053985
Construction started
21st June 1824
Completed1825
Renovated1st February 1996
ClientGalway Corporation
Department of Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht
Design and construction
ArchitectAlexander Hay (1824-1825)
Other information
Seating capacity400 (Main auditorium)
52 (Studio space)
Website
tht.ie

The Town Hall Theatre (Irish: Amharclann Halla na Cathrach)[1] is a theatre in Galway, Ireland. It was commissioned as a courthouse and later accommodated the meeting place and offices of Galway Corporation.

History

The Town Hall Theatre was designed by architect Alexander Hay in the neoclassical style to be the Galway Town Courthouse and was built directly opposite the Galway County Courthouse. Construction of the building began on 21 June 1824 and was completed in 1825.[2][3]

The design involved a symmetrical facade of five bays facing onto Courthouse Square, with the end bays slightly projected forward. The central section of three bays featured a tetrastyle portico formed by Doric order columns supporting an entablature. The end bays were fenestrated by segmental headed windows with voussoirs.[4] The Coat of arms of the United Kingdom was mounted on top of the entablature, but was removed during the Irish War of Independence. It is now located behind the Quadrangle at the University of Galway.[5][6]

The building was later used as a town hall by the Galway Corporation. The corporation was dissolved under the Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840, with the town commissioners as its successor. After it was reformed in 1937, Galway Corporation was mostly based at offices in Dominick Street and Fishmarket.[7]

On 18 October 1911, Christabel Pankhurst made an address at a suffragettes meeting held by the Irish Women’s Franchise League. Councillor M.J. Crowley of the Galway Urban Council followed this address by stating that the council would express their support for women's voting rights.[8]

In 1913 the Ard Fheis was held at the Town Hall. This was the first Oireachtas held outside of Dublin. Notable attendees included, Douglas Hyde, Éamon de Valera, Seán T. O’Kelly and Patrick Pearse.[9]

On 29 January 1916 the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and John Redmond advertised a recruiting conference, known as the "Great Recruiting Conference" in the Tuam Herald and Galway Express newspapers, which was held at the Town Hall on 2 February 1916.[10]

In December 1920, the Town Hall was commandeered by the British Military and was used as a temporary detention camp. The camp held 134 prisoners, according to Geraldine Plunkett Dillon and was guarded by around 40 military personnel. Prisoners were treated poorly, being forced to sleep on the floor with little room. The conditions of this camp resulted in the death of Michael Mullin, a Gaelic footballer for Mountbellew, from influenza on 3 January 1921.[11] Following his death, the authorities moved the prisoners to St Nicholas’ Parochial School, Earl's Island and the County Gaol.[12]

In the 1950s, the building was converted into a cinema and was used for film screenings until it fell into disrepair in the 1990s. Galway Corporation, with the assistance of a grant from the Department of Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht, undertook a major refurbishment of the building between 1993 and 1995 and it reopened as a municipal theatre in October 1995.[13][14][15]

The venue has a seating capacity for 400 people in its main auditorium and a capacity for 52 people in a studio space. It attracts audiences in excess of 100,000 annually (close to 2 million since being officially re-opened on 1 February 1996) making it the most successful theatre of its size in Ireland.[16]

It is used as a venue for several festivals annually including Cúirt International Festival of Literature, which is held in April each year,[17][18] and the Galway International Arts Festival, which is held in July each year.[19][20]

Charlie Byrne's Bookshop hosts a pop-up bookshop there in April each year during Cúirt.[21]

References

  1. "Front Page". tuairisc. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  2. "Town Hall Theatre, Galway". tht.ie. Retrieved 17 June 2026.
  3. "Galway Courthouse | The Courts Service of Ireland". www.courts.ie.
  4. "Town Hall Theatre, Courthouse Square, Court Avenue, Townparks". Buildings of Ireland. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  5. "U.K.'s Royal Coat of Arms at NUI Galway in Galway, Ireland". Encircle Photos. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  6. "University Trail - University of Galway". www.universityofgalway.ie. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  7. "The Navigation Lough Corrib Navigation Trustees". Inland Waterways Association of Ireland. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  8. "Christabel Pankhurst – Galway Stories". 29 December 2025. Retrieved 17 June 2026.
  9. "Town Hall Theatre, Galway". tht.ie. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  10. "From the Papers 29 January 1916: Lord Lieutenant Opens Recruiting Conference". www.galwaydecadeofcommemoration.org. Archived from the original on 13 April 2024. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  11. "Galway footballer died in British custody, 3 January 1921". Galway City Museum. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  12. Kenny, Tom. "The Town Hall Internment Camp". Galway Advertiser. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  13. "History". Town Hall Theatre. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  14. Potter, Matthew (2011). The Municipal Revolution in Ireland A Handbook of Urban Government in Ireland Since 1800. Irish Academic Press. p. 349. ISBN 978-0716530824.
  15. Supplement to the Official Journal of the European Communities. Vol. 37. Office for Official Publications of the European Communities. 1994.
  16. "All about the Town Hall Theatre in Galway". tht.ie. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  17. "Cúirt International Festival of Literature". The Irish Place. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  18. "Cúirt International Festival of Literature". Journal of Music. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  19. "40 Things You Might Not Know About GIAF". Galway International Arts Festival. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  20. Andrews, Kernan (29 May 2014). "Galway International Arts Festival 2014- what's on, who's coming". Galway Advertiser. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  21. "About Charlie Byrne's". Archived from the original on 19 May 2014.