Petition to reopen Trim Town Hall

Almost five years after the sudden closure of Trim’s Town Hall, a new Facebook page and petition have been set up calling for the town hall to be repaired and reopened.
The Facebook page 'Trim Town Hall- Our Community Our Hall’ was set up by Barbara Mellerick, who has been a member of Trim Drama Group for 20 years and is also on the T-ACT committee set up after the closure of the town hall with the aim of delivering a performance space for local groups.
A petition calling on the council to re-open the town hall was launched at Scurlogstown Olympiad’s annual haymaking festival on 19th June. While the day was a washout, Barbara together with Jan Way of Trim Drama and Anna Pottinger of Trim Musical Society collected close to 200 signatures,
Petitions are also in several shops around the town and there is also an online petition. So far, a week on, almost 1,000 people have signed the petition which Barbara said is very encouraging.
Local groups have been using Scoil Mhuire’s Hall since the town hall closed but they want to see the town hall, which is in a prime location in the town, renovated to become a thriving community centre and tourist hub.
“It could be amazing, it could be a thriving hub for the local arts groups and others who might be interested. It could be a tourist hub and a visitor centre. It is a crying shame that Trim doesn’t have a decent tourist centre,” said Barbara.
“It should be a beautiful building in the heart of the town,” she added.
Barbara was prompted to set up the facebook page and petition after reading an article by Matt Gilsensan in the local Focus newsletter about the history of the town hall and the sad state it is in now.
The hall was opened in 1953 and most of Ireland’s best known showbands played there in the era of ballroom dancing. It was also home to Trim Drama Group and Trim Musical Society until its sudden closure in September 2011. Basketball and dance groups also used it over the years,
“As a taxpayer and a person from Trim and someone involved in the drama group, I feel it is wrong to lose a building in such a prime location.”
She gave an example of Westport Town Hall which was closed for eight years before being reopened a year ago, pointed out that since it reopened it has had 20,000 visitors. Barbara said she knows that the hall needs work before it could be back in use but feels it is a “fixable building” and said there are groups willing to take it on.
Cllr Noel French raised the issue of returning the town hall to community use at the June meeting of Trim Municipal District Council. Director of Services Des Foley said the council was in contact with the OPW and he would come back with a report when the discussions had concluded. It is understood the discussions are looking at the future of the building in the context of its proximity to the OPW site at Trim Castle.