A historic dance hall in Co Tyrone has been flattened to make way for a new primary school.
Diggers were spotted on the site of Edendork Dance Hall — also known as St Malachy’s Parochial Hall as part of Dungannon Parish — on Monday.
The hall was built in 1963 and was a popular attraction during Northern Ireland’s ‘showband era’, hosting the likes of Tom Jones and Christy Moore in its heyday.
The hall had been unused for more than 25 years before planning permission was granted two years ago to build the new 11-classroom Edendork Primary School on the site.
Workers at the site of Edendork Dance Hall (Credit: Michael Kerr)
When the application was first submitted in 2020 it received six letters of objection.
At the time, a report brought before the council drew attention to comments from a number of individuals, including Ulster Architectural Heritage, which claimed the parochial hall was of “significant architectural and historic interest”.
Following a consultation with the Department for Communities’ historical environment division, the parochial hall was not deemed to be of “significant or special architectural and historic interest to justify listing”.
Prior to planning being passed, a petition was launched by Rebecca Brownlie, in a bid to save the building from falling into further disrepair and subsequently demolished.
Ms Brownlie runs the Abandoned NI Facebook page, and specialises in visually recording abandoned buildings.
At the time, the petition received over 1,600 signatures, urging those interested to appeal to Mid Ulster District Council to stop the building’s demolition.
Ms Brownlie said that the first time she saw the hall her “jaw dropped”.
“It was just breath-taking; the ceiling and architecture in the hall is spectacular, I couldn’t believe we had something like this in Northern Ireland,” she told the Belfast Telegraph.
“At that time, a few years ago, it was in a bad state of disrepair with lots of water getting in and parts of the ceiling collapsing, but it wasn’t un-saveable, so that’s when I wanted to launch the petition.
“Lots of people got behind it and there was a big response to it but it’s disheartening that it’s all just fallen on deaf ears,” she added.
“I understand the community needs a new primary school but there could have been something done to save the building.”
The Edendork Dance Hall (Credit: Abandoned NI)
The photographer said that the demolition of Edendork Dance Hall is “heart-breaking” but “will not deter” her from helping to save historic buildings.
“It may be gone now, but it’s the reason I do what I do, to take photographs of these old forgotten buildings so that they are remembered for years to come.”
In May, Education Minister Paul Givan announced £80m of capital funding allocations for 2024-25 to progress plans for a number of new build primary schools across Northern Ireland, including Edendork Primary School.
The hall is owned by Dungannon Parish and is currently “in the process” of being sold to the Department of Education, according to Dean Kevin Donaghy.
“The hall had fallen into disrepair for some time now and was no longer fit for purpose,” he told this newspaper.
The parish priest said it was the “best location” to place the new Edendork Primary School.
“On the one hand it was just sitting there vacant and unused and at the same time the primary school needed to be replaced badly,” he added.
Dean Donaghy pointed out how the hall “more or less drifted out of use by the 1980s” after being used as a dance hall and a parochial hall for many years.
“When I came to Dungannon seven years ago it was totally closed up and no longer used; it wasn’t being used which was the main reason for its sale,” he said.
It is hoped that the new build will house more than 300 pupils on the site.
A spokesperson for the Department of Education said: “Planning approval for the new school build for Edendork Primary School was granted by Mid Ulster District Council in June 2022 with construction of this much needed replacement school anticipated to commence in April 2025. The first phase of work will be the demolition of the former parish hall, which is in line with the approved planning permission.
“The cost of purchasing Edendork Dance Hall remains commercial in confidence.”