Plans to transform the former Glenties courthouse into a visitor attraction celebrating Brian Friel have been approved by Donegal County Council.
The former Courthouse will be leased by the Brian Friel Trust CLG to honour the rich cultural, artistic and literary legacy of the playwright.
Cllr Anthony Molloy has said that a €4.5million investment will be made into the centre, which will generate up to 30 full-time jobs.
Cllr Molloy commented that this is a great news story for the area: “No doubt it will be a huge attraction to local people and visitors to Glenties and the surrounding areas.”
The former Courthouse at Mill Road, which is a protected structure, built in the 1840s, will be leased for a period of 99 years for a nominal annual rent of €100 per year.
Brian Friel (1929-2015) was the best-known Irish playwright of his generation and an accomplished short-story writer who had a strong affection for County Donegal. Many of his internationally-renowned works are set in the fictional Ballybeg, based on Glenties, where his mother’s family home is located (The Laurels).
The proposal to re-develop Glenties Courthouse will also complement and contribute to the conservation and re-use of The Laurels which is proposed as part of a separate but related development.
The Laurels itself is also a Protected Structure of national significance in the guardianship of the Brian Friel Trust.
In proposing the lease, the committee said that Brian Friel’s international reputation and the development of a Brian Friel Centre has the potential to increase the number of visitors and tourists to the town thus supporting other local businesses especially in the service sector.
