From the archives: Burleigh House was earmarked as Mayo library headquarters
By Tom Gillespie
EIGHT-EIGHT years ago Mayo County Council considered purchasing Burleigh House (pictured), a townhouse on Ellison Street, Castlebar, as the headquarters for the county library service.
The Connaught Telegraph of January 2, 1937, said the following report of a conference regarding the proposed acquisition of Burleigh House as the County Library premises was to be considered at a meeting of the council:
A conference of representatives appointed by the county council, County Board of Health, and County Library Committee, to consider a letter from the Department of Local Government and Public Health relative to the above subject, was held on November 27, 1936.
Rev. G.J. Prendergast, P.P., Ballyhaunis, presided. Very Rev. D. Canon O’Connor, Adm., Ballina; Messers. B. Joyce, vice-chairman, county council; T.S. Moclair, county council; T.J. O’Toole, county council, and C. Gilmartin, county council, were also in attendance.
Rev. M. Carey, P.P., Aghamore, sent a telegraphic message that owing to health reasons he was unable to be present. Mr. M. Kilroy, T.D., chairman of the county council, wrote that he was detained in Dublin on public business and could not attend. Councillor T. Ruane also sent a message of his inability to be present owing to another engagement.
The secretary of the council, Mr. M.J. Egan, who was directed to convene the meeting, submitted the following communication from the Department of Local Government and Public Health arising out of which the conference was formed:
“A Chara - With reference to your letter of the 9th ultimo and previous correspondence in regard to the proposal of Mayo County Council to raise a loan of £2,000 for the provision of accommodation for the county library, I am directed by the Minister for Local Government and Public Health to state that the premises which it was proposed to acquire for the purpose do not appear to be very suitable and, moreover, seem too large for the purpose of a county library.
“It is understood that the building is an old structure, and the question of the future maintenance would be a matter to be taken into consideration in this connection.
“Before expressing any more detailed opinion on the proposal of the county council, the Minister would be glad to obtain their views, after consultation with the Board of Health, on the possibility of utilising a portion of the present (1936/7) County Hospital (County Infirmary on the Mall) as quarters for the county library when the new County Hospital (on Westport Road) is opened.
“This matter could be considered in conjunction with any additional proposals that the local authority may have in view for using the old County Hospital building for the accommodation of staff.”
In connection with the first paragraph of the department’s letter, the county surveyor’s report on the proposed acquisition of Burleigh House was read, and Mr. T.P. Flanagan, county surveyor, who was present, reiterated that in his view the premises was eminently suited for the purpose for which it was proposed to acquire them.
With regard to the second paragraph of the communication, the members representing the county council and Board of Health intimated that it was the intention of these bodies to use the old county hospital, when vacant, for the office accommodation of the clerical staff of the county council (secretarial, motor taxation and engineering), the Board of Health, the County Committee of Agriculture and County Vocational Education Committee, as they were convinced that having those staffs located at present in unsuitable offices scattered apart did not tend to efficiency in local administration as it was hoped the provision of proper, modern office accommodation in the one building would.
The county surveyor, being asked if in his opinion accommodation for the various clerical staffs as well as the library premises could be provided in the present County Hospital when vacant, stated that the intention in regard to the staffs mentioned, if carried out, would fully tax all the accommodation afforded by the vacation of the County Hospital.
Having fully considered the matter in the light of foregoing circumstances, the committee unanimously recommended that the county council appoint a deputation to wait on the Minister for Local Government and Public Health and place before him all the facts in connection with the council’s proposal in regard to the acquisition of Burleigh House and urge him to accord his sanction to the borrowing of the necessary sum required for the project.
Historic footnote: The site of the county infirmary on Castlebar’s Mall is now the headquarters of Mayo County Council while the new County Library headquarters is also on the Mall.
Burleigh House, built in 1838, was later owned by dentist T.F. O’Brien and is now the property of local building contractor Seamus Regan.
Had the 1937 proposal to acquire Burleigh House been successful it would have made a most spectacular library premises in the heart of the county town. However, parking would have become a major headache.