Big Laois milestone in amazing transformation of derelict Portlaoise eyesore

Laois County councillors will be asked to give the final clearance for the radical overhaul of landmark building in Portlaoise nearly a decade after Laois County council set out to buy the derelict building for housing.

County Hall management will ask the county's local representatives to approve a Part VIII application for a new social housing project on the site of the old County Hotel property on Main St Portlaoise at the council's monthly meeting on February 24.

Part VIII is the process that allows for the application of planning permission for projects being developed by Laois and other local authorities around Ireland. 

Such approval, if granted as is likely, would mark a major milestone for the historic building which has fallen into a severe state of dereliction since its closure as a hotel more than 20 years ago over over 100 years of operations. 

County Hall says the proposed development at 102 Main Street, Portlaoise will consist of the demolition of the existing, derelict, three-storey building. It will be replaced by a new, three-storey apartment building, comprising 10 residential units and a communal/enterprise space at ground level.

There will be eight one-bed apartments and two two-bed apartments. Drawings show that the new building will have a transformative impact on the lower end of Main Street near the Lower Square.

The plans show that when complete, the street-facing part of the apartment block will have a modern facade. It will link with a flat roof four-storey structure to the rear.

The council intends to begin demolition and start construction in 2025. The building will likely be demolished in late spring. Clúid Housing Association will then carry out the construction.

The old building, which was once known as the Leinster Hotel, was purchased by the council in 2018, after a drawn-out effort to encourage the absent owner to sell the derelict building, described as “an eyesore” on Main St. The local authority exchanged contracts with the former owner in 2017. 

While substantial public funds were invested in the purchase, the council has so far refused to make public how much taxpayers' money was invested. Laois County Council paid Shaws €450,000 for the nearby former Department store in 2013. It ended up costing €7.5 million to develop a library on the site.

Its redevelopment marks the latest big investment of public funds in old Portlaoise buildings for housing.  More below picture.

Mural paid for by Laois County Concil now adorns the facade of the hotel.

Upwards of €27 million is being spent on a new social housing project on Church Avenue on the grounds of the former Presentation Covent and school.

It is not yet clear how much the council expects to spend on the former hotel property but it has a special place in history for Portlaoise people.

The front section is made of stone, dating to 1810, but to the rear, is a large 1960s building the functioned as a ballroom. The Main St facing building is a Protected Structure in the Laois County Development Plan 2021-2027. The proposed development is within the Portlaoise architectural conservation area.

Permission was given to knock the building because development of the site would otherwise be impossible as there is no rear access. The site backs onto commercial office buildings on James Fintan Lalor Avenue beside the People First Credit Union.

The building was previously assessed as being of Regional Importance by the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage in their survey Portlaoise.

The Rev. John T. Moore is identified as a Governor and Director of the Maryborough District Lunatic Asylum and owner of several properties in Maryborough was the first recorded owner.

Patrick Doran took ownership in 1870. He went on to be involved in the Irish Republican Brotherhood, the Land League, and possibly the Easter Rising. It was under his ownership that it became a hotel.

It would be renamed by subsequent owners as the County Hotel. It was taken over by Danny Dempsey and advertised as the No. 1 spot for entertainment in the Midlands, hosting such attractions as Eddie's Disco Roadshow and the World Disco Dancing Championship 1985 Irish Finals. There was a hairdresser on the second floor. 

It ceased to operate as a hotel under Mr Dempsey's ownership. The council completed the purchase of the building in 2019.