New concert hall for Balbriggan

BALBRIGGAN is getting a new 400-seater concert hall which it’s hoped will make the town the “music capital of Ireland”.

This is after the Irish Institute of Music and Song, based in Church Street, was granted planning permission for the new concert hall as part of an ambitious €10 million investment into their campus.

Back in January the Irish Institute of Music and Song (IIMS) set up its new permanent home in Bedford House, a historic Georgian era building many local residents will know as the former nursing home in Balbriggan.

Connected at the rear through an archway, the campus extends to a Victorian home with a beautiful walled garden that once functioned as the Petty Session rooms for Balbriggan in the early to mid-19th century.

IIMS Co-Founders Michael T Dawson (left) and Dónal Kearney (right) with Minister Darragh O’Brien during a recent visit to the campus in Balbriggan.

The Irish Institute of Music and Song is a new internationally facing non-profit music organisation.

Its focus is on increasing access to quality music education, providing unique residential courses for national and international students and using music as an instrument to strengthen communities.

The IIMS has organically grown out of the Fingal Academy of Music, a private music school founded by directors Michael T Dawson and Dónal Kearney that has been providing weekly music lessons to over 1,500 students since 2009.

The co-founder of the Irish Institute of Music and Song, Dónal Kearney, told Northside People the new concert hall will be a great benefit to Balbriggan and the local community.

“The people of Balbriggan have been nothing but supportive of this new project,” he said.

“The plan is for construction to begin next month and for the hall to open in March 2022 with its first concert.

“After it opens, we plan to have concerts every weekend and on weekdays as well.

“The construction of a 400-seat Concert Hall in Balbriggan is set to transform the artistic identity of Fingal and will provide a unique space for touring acts, performing ensembles, arts organisations and businesses to connect with the local community through music.

“Balbriggan already has so much going for it,” he added. “It is both Ireland’s youngest town and the most culturally diverse town in the country, which makes it an exciting location for a creative endeavour such as the IIMS.

“We want to make it the music capital of Ireland.

“Fingal County Council has consistently shown its ongoing support along this journey and we are very excited to move into the next phase of the Irish Institute of Music and Song.”

As part of the planning permission, the IIMS will build the brand new 400-seat concert hall on its campus and will convert the Coach House of Bedford Hall into a café and restaurant that should be open to the public by March 2021.

Visitors from Ireland and abroad will also be able to stay in luxury accommodation in both Bedford House and Bedford Hall.