Delight as €2.5 million Tuam Parish Centre gets go-ahead

By SIOBHÃÂN HOLLIMAN PLANNERS have given the green light for a new €2.5 million parish centre for Tuam, which will be located between the Cathedral of the Assumption and the Mercy Convent. The contemporary design by Westport-based Taylor Architects has undergone significant changes over the past number of months in an attempt to address the planning authority's concerns.The decision to grant permission for the extensive development has been welcomed by Tuam Pastoral Council, which has been working on the project for the past four years.The building incorporates a single-level chapel towards the front, which is joined to a central, single-storey foyer area, and the only two-storey section is at the back where the large hall, offices and meeting rooms are located.The parish centre incorporates the existing Coach House which will become an exhibition space and museum for many of the church's chalices and artefacts. The day chapel is intended to open until 10 pm and will also incorporate the stained glass windows from the chapel in the old Grove hospital.Prior to his departure from Tuam, former Tuam Administrator Fr Stephen Farragher said the new centre incorporates much-needed facilities for the busy parish such as a large hall for occasions and gatherings as well as a number of meeting rooms.Rented roomsRecently, the parish has had to rent rooms in local hotels for gatherings. As lay people continue to become more active in the Church at parish and diocesan level, large meetings are likely to increase.The parish cannot cope with the demand for the use of rooms and office space in the existing Parish Centre on Dublin Road. Groups and agencies that are currently using the facility include Fás, Alcoholics Anonymous, Tuam Family Services, the School Completion Programme and Tuam Arts Festival Committee.The long-term plan for the existing Parish Centre is that it would be part of an overall educational campus incorporating the existing, vacant St Patrick's Secondary School and St Patrick's Primary School. In the interim there is a huge demand for its facilities from voluntary agencies that are not directly linked to the parish.Discussions have also taken place with mental health organisation Jigsaw on the possibility of developing a drop-in centre for young people in the area.It's understood that €1 million has been saved towards the construction of the centre but considerable fundraising remains to be done.Member of Tuam Pastoral Council, Cllr Shaun Cunniffe, is delighted that planning permission has been secured for the centre.'The whole project has been fully supported Archbishop Michael Neary and I would like to make special mention of the leadership and courage of Fr Stephen Farragher in driving this project on through all the changes, rejections, revisions and explanations required by the planners.'The plans had to be completely revised on two occasions, which was energy sapping and very discouraging, but Fr Stephen kept on going when planning permission seemed a distant hope. 'I think it is a wonderful tribute and example of the enormous contribution that Fr Stephen has given to Tuam and beyond that we now have planning permission for this vital building for the parish of Tuam and the Archdiocese. The whole parish is extremely grateful to him for this,' commented Cllr Cunniffe.The Tuam area councillor says that the challenge ahead is to raise the funds in order for the centre to be built. He believes the centre will enrich the life of the parish.