Historic Laois landmark set to be transformed into a museum and events centre
The Old Fort in Portlaoise
THE historic Old Fort, the centuries old fortress which was the first building established in what would become Portlaoise back in 1547, is set to be transformed into a town museum and events centre, the latest meeting of Laois County Council has heard.
The largely rectangular fortress sits just off the main street and encompasses a space of three and a half acres; the proposed development will also include the neighbouring barracks that Laois County Council purchased in 2025. Plans have been brewing since 2022 when Laois Co Council published its initial conservation plan for the fort protector, with the motivation being the continued regeneration of the town of Portlaoise.
Explaining the long-gestating plans to the assembled Council, a representative of the Area Office said the development would include:
"The refurbishment of the granary as a museum, exhibition and indoor performance space and it would also provide a permanent home for the Portlaoise plane … and as mentioned the barracks site the council also purchased last year will provide us with a flexible arts, culture, and community space. And finally, as part of the development will be the provision of toilet facilities, which would be of enormous benefit as with the existing space outside the music centre often requiring us to hire out wealthfare facilities."
In response to the plans, the representative said that they had received three submissions, with all of them being broadly supportive toward the vision - though the Department of Local Government did remind them that in the development they would have to ensure that various archeological and heritage aspects of the buildings were preserved.
Responding to the plans, Councillor James Kelly expressed excitement and wondered if, given the plans for the historic courthouse to become a county museum, if the granary space might be considered as a site for the town Museum. Councillor Aisling Moran was also similarly pleased with the plan, though also wanted some details on how the event space would be managed/leased out when the site was up and running.
Adding to the presentation, the representative highlighted that the granary building as an events space would be more suited to hosting smaller events during the winter months, while the outdoor space would be more suited to larger summer gatherings.
The Portlaoise plane will be a sculptural replica of the one that Portlaoise man Colonel Fitzmaurice flew in 1908 as the first ever successful transatlantic flight; its permanent home will be in the soon-to-be-converted Portlaoise granary.
