Laois community club hall to close following discovery of leak

A Laois community club hall is to close temporarily, following the discovery of a leak, which will incur an unexpected extra cost that will require local donations.

Mountmellick Macra Hall in the town centre has to close down until the autumn, the group has announced to the community.

The busy club had already carried out roof repairs but more are needed, their public relations officer Emer Feighery confirmed to the Leinster Express / Laois Live.

"Mountmellick Macra Hall will be temporarily closed due to renovation works. These works are a result of a leak on the roof where previous remedial work has not been successful.

"Part-funding has been secured under the Community Centre Investment Fund, which will help us carry out the building work. Additional fundraising will also be required to complete these works.

"The renovations are scheduled to commence immediately and are expected to be completed by autumn. We look forward to welcoming the community back to our hall once the works are complete," the PRO said.

The busy club puts on a panto in the hall every January, and also holds the hugely popular light up Christmas tractor and truck run for charities. This year it raised over €20,000 for Down Syndrome Laois.

See photos of the Christmas tractor run here.

They recently won four awards at the Laois Macra Awards night.

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They scooped Club of the Year, The Eoin Doran Shield, County Person of the Year and Best Young Member.

Mountmellick Macra has also announced a big 60th anniversary dinner dance in the Midlands Park Hotel, Portlaoise on May 9 2026.