A fine symmetrical building designed by William Deane Butler. It was originally built as a market house and the ground floor is arcaded.
Construction of The Market House began in 1844 and was completed in 1846 at the expense of Thomas B Leonard, it replaced and earlier 18 century market house . The outside of the building has some beautiful features including:
- Carved stone plaque with Barrett Leonard Crest
- A Cartouche and date stone
- The cornice detailing
- The cast iron tympanums with the TBL monogram
The Market House had a cupola on the roof which unfortunately was removed during renovations in 1949 because the structure was considered dangerous. The upper floor served as a town hall and was also was used for public meetings. James Connolly 1868-1916 addressed a meeting of workers there in 1899 to select a workers representative to stand for election to the first Monaghan County Council. Percy French and his “Jarvey” Concert Co. held a concert here on 18th April 1890 and he appeared here again on April 22nd. 1897. Padraig Pearse another signatory of the 1916 Proclamation who was executed for his part in the 1916 Rising, delivered a lecture on the Gaelic League in this building in 1906, when a branch of the Gaelic League was formed in Clones.
The lower floor served as a working market house and had wrought iron gates were we now see these fine windows. The County Library set up headquarters here on the 1st April 1928 in the upstairs room. The Library then moved downstairs in 1966 and remained there until 2008
Architect
William Deane Butler (d. 1857) Studied under Henry Aaron Baker at the Dublin Society Schools, and was a founding member of the Royal Institute of Architects in Ireland, as well as the Society of Irish Artists. An engineer as well as an architect, amongst his most important works is Amiens Street Station (now Connolly Station) as a terminus for the Drogheda and Dublin Railway Company. He also designed the Roman Catholic Cathedral for Kilkenny and Sligo Asylum.
The Rebuild
Alastair Coey Architects was appointed in March 2012 by Monaghan County Council, with support from The Heritage Council to prepare a Conservation and Management Plan for Clones Market House. The Market House once underpinned the economic life of the town and its immediate hinterland. Disused for some years, the Client Brief required a full heritage assessment, in the form of a Conservation Management Plan, to sensitively guide the creative adaptation of the building while taking account of its heritage value.
The Council appointed Alastair Coey Architects to implement a number of policies contained within the plan, including implementation of urgent repairs to prevent further deterioration of fabric. This first phase of restoration work was carried out in 2013-14, involving roof restoration, replacement of lead tapered gutters, external re-rendering and repointing.
Ground floor works
- Replacement of old windows which had been installed in the 1960’s
- Moving of entrance alongside the Bank of Ireland
- Partition walls to create the following
- A council chamber which also can be used for local community groups to meet in, the chamber is beautifully designed
- Open plan office
- 2 sub offices
- Reception area
- Public toilet
- Meeting room.
- Down stairs offices are fitted with underground heating air conditioning and a heat recovery unit,
Back Stairs/landing
- The back stairs have been restored to there formal glory and are one of the buildings finest features
- To comply with health and safety a lift has been installed.
- From the top landing we have a beautiful view of the Round Tower
Upstairs
- The upstairs of the building has remained relatively unchanged
- Windows frames are original but have been refurbished to hold double glazing
- Coving and cornices remains virtually on touched. Some replacement works were carried out on the coving due to water damage
- Doors and door surrounds are originals
- The upstairs contains an open plan office, 2 sub offices a canteen and staff toilets.
Throughout the offices we have pictures from Monaghan County Museum depicting scenes from around the Municipal District. The entrance hall has an infographic of the GNR station in Clones, this was designed by local man Dan Kerr who sketched it from memory. The infographic was developed through a collaboration between Largy College, former GNR workers and other local groups. It was facilitated by Monaghan County Council. The cost of the refurbishment of the building is approximately €1.1million and was funded by Monaghan County Council