Cavan - Cavan Town Hall

Cavan Town Hall

The interesting Town Hall was designed by William Scott, the well known Dublin architect, for the then Cavan Urban District Council. The hall was constructed between November 1908 and late 1909, with it being officially opened on Wednesday, January 19th, 1910. The building was officially opened by Mrs. Henrietta Smith (who also laid the foundation stone), wife of Cllr. Louis C.P. Smith, the Chairman of Cavan Urban District Council at that time. The relatively small and unostentatious Town Hall, located on Townhall Street, is built of sandstone from a quarry at Latt, on the northern edge of Cavan Town, while the original slates came from near Carrick-on-Suir in County Tipperary. The building appears to be designed and built in a version of the Arts and Crafts style of architecture. It underwent significant redecoration and refurbishment in the 1980s, under the direction of Cavan architect Philip Cullivan. Each March, since 1946, the Town Hall has played host to the Cavan International Drama Festival, a competition which has always drawn the finest in amateur drama. It remains the headquarters of Cavan Town Council but, given the abolition of town councils by the Irish government, its future is somewhat uncertain.