Mysterious new mural on derelict Portlaoise hotel
The saga of the derelict County Hotel on Portlaoise Main Street is continuing, with mystery cloaking a new mural covering its facade.
The building was once the go-to destination for dances where many a romance led to marriages.
It shut down nearly 30 years ago. Fire gutted it several times since, most recently in 2015 with the roof having to be smashed in by fire crews to douse the flames.
The boys of St Mary's CBS gave the building a facelist afterwards with a Portlaoise GAA mural.
Laois County Council went on to buy the building from an unidentified owner in 2018 after long negotation that included their considering a compulsory purchase order.
Their aim was two pronged, to end dereliction and provide town centre social housing apartments, partnering with Clúid, but it has hit multiple obstacles since as the building continued to deteriorate.
The latest move by the council is to request a removal of the County Hotel from the Protected Structures list, so that they can demolish it and get the apartments built. No plans have yet been displayed for how that block will be designed.
The council has had to invest public money into protecting the public from falling debris, firstly with a scaffolded walkway, and when that brought complaints from a neighbouring trader, it was replaced by a protective structure along the roof edge.
Some weeks ago, the building turned a nice shade of peach, in preparation for its latest temporary image.
Professional mural artist Ciarán Dunleavy has been transforming the exterior with a mural, but he is keeping the theme a secret until it is complete, expected to be within the coming fortnight.
It features a skipping child, and mysterious women dotted around a leafy river glade decorated with celtic spirals. The work was commissioned by Laois Arts Office.
What do our readers think, what is your guess for the theme? Scroll through our gallery to see the changing facade of the County Hotel.