Work is ongoing to restore Donegal’s much-loved ‘Tin Shop’ near Barnesmore Gap.
Plans to demolish the iconic structure near Donegal town were shelved last summer following a change of heart by the owner.
The former shop, which was erected around 1915, and closed in 2006, is listed as being of regional importance by the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage (NIAH).
Its future was secured earlier this year thanks to a grant allocation under the Built Heritage Investment Scheme (BHIS).
According to a 2007 NIAH report, the ‘charming and quite picturesque’ former shop retains its early form, character and much of its early fabric.
“It was probably initially built as a temporary structure, hence the use of a cheap material such as corrugated-metal, but it has survived in good condition,” the report stated.
However, the building has fallen into a state of disrepair in more recent years.
According to local information, this structure may have been originally built as a meeting house or an Orange Hall, and possibly moved there from another location. There is a ‘Wesleyan Methodist Meeting House’ indicated on a 1907 map just to the south of the present site of this building.
Tags:
