Plans revealed for the future use of Westport Courthouse

The future of Westport Courthouse was the subject of a lunchtime update on Friday. The event was organised as part of Heritage Week 2025.

First built in 1841, the building primarily served as a courthouse, as well as being used for election counts and auctions until it was closed in 2013.

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In 2023, the Westport Historical Society was offered the opportunity to enter into a lease arrangement with the council. Their plan is to move the Clew Bay Heritage centre from its current premises at the Quay to the Courthouse.

The plans to convert the courthouse into the new home for the Clew Bay Heritage centre were outlined by James Kelly, chairperson of the Westport Historical Society and David Power of Cox, Power architects in Westport.

Architect David Power summarised the works to date as trying to capture the state of the building as “a base for doing the next phase works.”

James Kelly explained that a €25,000 grant from the Heritage Council to carry out surveys has been “absolutely crucial.”

The surveys carried out so far include a topographic survey of the building and the surroundings, asbestos survey, ecology survey and a building condition survey. Conservation architect Cuala McGann has also prepared a conservation management plan.

With those steps completed, the next step for the project will be to apply for planning permission for change of use.

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Phased renovation

Both are clear on the desire to retain as much of the old building as possible, with James Kelly saying that “we want to preserve as much of the original fabric as possible”

However, Power notes that “there's a recognition that these buildings won't survive unless they get new uses.”

He picks out the judge’s bench in the courthouse and the timberwork around it as an area of particular interest as it appears to be from the original building in 1841.

There will be other things that “you absolutely have to change.”

“It'll probably be a phased renovation over a number of years”, James Kelly explains.

“We will need archival storage space, a reading room, study area, digitization facilities for scanning, photographing, a meeting room and various offices.”

This may require the building of an extension to the building.

The ‘very elegantly designed chimneys’ on the roof of the building have caused problems by spreading water throughout the building.

The design of this building centred the chimneys for the aesthetic. The issue that created is that the fireplaces are actually quite distant from where the chimneys are.

“That means that the flues from those chimneys are spreading through the whole building, and with them, they're spreading water everywhere”, says David Power. This has not helped with a ceiling of the courtroom that is unsafe.

More warm and wet summers mixed with a cement filling of joints in the stone walls have also meant the walls haven’t been able to dry out in the same way that they would have historically.

Another factor in the future works will be the asbestos identified on the back lean to roof.

Community Building

Looking ahead to the future opening of the relocated Clew Bay Heritage Centre, James Kelly plans to use all the latest technology available, such as museum tour apps, audio guides and all sorts of interactive technology.

“We would also hope that the courtroom, the main exhibition area, will double for other uses, like book launches and so on. The priority is that it's a community building, that it's used by the community, and that it's available to as much of the community as possible.”