Laois councillor turns old bank into new business
One of the three Bank of Ireland branches that closed in Laois two years ago is getting a new life that is hoped will boost a town’s economy.
Mountrath, Durrow and Rathdowney branches shut down in 2021 to widespread local concern, amongst 88 closures across Ireland by the formerly state owned bank.
One of them however is about to be reborn, to offer short term rental apartments and a new community bookshop.
Mountrath businessman, Cllr James Kelly, has bought the bank building on Main Street.
He has spent the six months having it renovated and is now just weeks away from reopening the doors.
While Cllr Kelly grew up looking at the building, and is a public representative for his community, he insists that business, not emotion drove him to invest in his town.
“There was an opportunity there from a business point of view, I didn’t buy it out of sentiment, despite living across the road since 1956.
“Its condition was fairly good. The ground floor had been kept in very good condition by the bank.
“Upstairs nobody had lived there for 14 or 15 years. There was a lot of work to do. We did it with great attention to detail, it was painstaking. A lot of old walls needed work.
“Downstairs will be leased to a community bookshop called The Book Bank, it is much like the Books@1 chain, part funded by a foundation.
“It will offer new and secondhand books, with volunteer staff. It will have a training area as well. The old bank vault will be a major feature of it.
Upstairs there will be five airbnb en-suite bedrooms to rent over two floors.
“There is no accommodation in Mountrath town. I’m involved in Laois Chamber and and I see what investment means to the county.
“I am proud to be investing in my own town, after seeing the recent vacant property survey on Mountrath and the number of properties on it. I’m not being emotional but I was looking at it empty. It is one of the finest buildings in the town and to see it idle was a problem for me.
“But I could see the business opportunity. There is adequate parking with the public carpark beside it. There are great restaurants in town. There are good businesses like Metek and CJ Sheeran so presumably there’ll be a spin-off from them. BloomHQ is expanding another ten offices in the nuns cubicles and half are leased out already. It’s brilliant.
“We have the Slieve Bloom cycle trail near us. You see people coming into the traffic lights and going up the mountains. If we can get some of them to stay and spend a few bob in the shops that will be great.”
Before the historic listed building became a bank, it was a home (pictured on left of street below).
The airbnb apartments should be ready by late April. They will look onto the Main Street out of the huge timber sash windows, and at the rear onto a large garden.
“I remember the caretaker Bernie O’Keeffe had a beautiful vegetable garden for the bank manager’s family, and the caretaker Gerry Fitzpatrick too. It is 30 metres by 60 metres, it could possibly have space for glamping,” Cllr Kelly said.
Cllr Kelly who owns Offtech office supplies company, declined to say how much money the project is costing.
“Let’s just say I’ll keep working for another while,” he said.
He got no grant aid for the project he said.
“I hope eventually to apply for heritage grants to replace some of the rear windows, from a preservation standpoint,” he said.