Concern if Portlaoise Plane could fit in door of Laois Museum at courthouse

Would the first plane built and flown in Ireland - the Portlaoise Plane - fit inside the door of the courthouse if it becomes a museum, is a question posed by a Laois councillor.

Following the recent condemnation of Portlaoise Courthouse by a Judge as "at crisis point" with rats and mould, the call has been made to convert it into the first county wide museum of Laois, after the new courthouse is built.

Cllr James Kelly has asked Laois County Council to fund a feasibility study to provide a "site specific" county museum. He said it should be in line with the Heritage Council's best practice guidelines. 

"It remains an ambition to have a county museum. We know it's all about funding and that's a conversation I'm involved with in Laois Historical Society. There was always a conversation about the museum to be in the old courthouse. I know how slow it works, we don't know how long it will be before we have a site.

"We have a deep and proud history. Laois Tourism has strived to meet this. One of the many projects is the aircraft in the granary, I'm not sure what stage that is at," he said.

Among the many Laois treasures currently in storage or on display elsewhere, is the groundbreaking Portlaoise Plane.

The restored wooden plane, built over a century ago in a Portlaoise garage, was shipped home from the UK in 2022 after a passionate mission led by historian Teddy Fennelly of Laois Heritage Society. It is in storage awaiting display.  Read more here.

The motion was seconded by Cllr John King who said Laois towns have "a serious heritage" and suggests "a bit of a museum in all our towns".

Cllr Paddy Buggy suggests that the courthouse will be too small for the plane.

"Being practical, the plane wouldn't fit, it's so large. It might lend itself to a modern museum. We do need to remind ourselves of our history, around many towns people have old collections that need to be preserved and remembered," he said.

"It could be dismantled," Cllr Kelly replied.

Cllr Caroline Dwane Stanley supports the motion.

"I support this, the courthouse is a fantastic old building steeped in history. Given the emphasis on the old fort, it would be ideal but it's not going to happen until we get the courthouse off Main Street," she said.

Cllr Tommy Mulligan said it is up to Laois TDs to fight for a new courthouse and for a Laois museum.

"There are small Laois museums but we do need a county museum to connect them all. We have huge history, unfortunately much of it relates to British colonialisation. The big thing is a location, we need to fight for this courthouse to get working on this museum," he said.

A Portlaoise greenfield site is ready and waiting for a big new Laois courthouse, bought by the Courts Service. However with no funding given for it, they have no timeline to build it. Read about the Judge's complaints and courthouse plans here.

Laois County Council has another site in mind to become the Laois Museum, the old Odlums granary store built on the town's 16th century Fort. 

They are spending up to €2m to redesign the store as a museum/audio visual space displaying the Portlaoise Plane and Laois aviation, the history of the Fort Protector,  the Seven Septs of Laois, and the county's rich industrial, agriculture, medical and energy production heritage. It will be the hub of the "Cultural Quarter of the town of Portlaoise". Read about that here.