A building at the very heart of the Moate community formally opened on Friday last, 17 June, wherein, the memory of a man held dear to the hearts of the the people of the town was honoured.
As Moate’s new €500,000 library was officially opened in the fully refurbished, historic courthouse, an archive dedicated to the late broadcaster, Colm Murray was also unveiled.
COLM MURRAY ARCHIVE
A beloved native son, Colm Murray was intensely proud of coming from Moate and his home town remains utterly proud of him. His wife, Ann, members of the Murray family and some of Colm’s colleagues from RTÉ were present for the formal ceremony, highlighting the online archive at the library.
Cllr. John Dolan, in speaking of the archive dedicated to Colm’s body of work with RTÉ said that it was a very appropriate tribute.
“There is no better storyteller in Moate than Colm Murray,” said Cllr. Dolan.
As plans for a new library for Moate took shape, the idea of commemorating journalist, writer and broadcaster, Colm Murray took hold. Ray Canavan and RTÉ’s Laura Fitzgerald were among those pioneering the project and the archive was lovingly collated.
On Friday last, as Moate’s state-of-the-art library building was opened, the archive was unveiled and an excerpt of an interview Colm gave to Sean O’Rourke on RTÉ Radio One was played, capturing a unique sense of humour, rapier wit and enchanting turn of phrase, the key elements of Colm’s great skill as a speaker.
It is but a small sample of the archive, which contains footage of Colm’s extensive career as a journalist and sports broadcaster.
“Moate has produced many people who have distinguished themselves, but Colm has a special place in people’s hearts,” said Gearóid O’Brien, Senior Executive Librarian and noted historian.
“He was born in 1952, the son of Michael and Kathleen Murray and after he completed his education, he embarked on a career as a teacher. He switched careers and for a time was a continuity announcer with RTÉ. He worked on Hospital’s Request before taking up a job on the news team and in 1989, he joined RTÉ’s sports department,” said Mr. O’Brien.
“Colm will be widely remembered for his reports of horse racing but he put his heart and soul into educating the public about motor neuron disease following his own diagnosis,” he said.
“He was determined to fight the good fight and gave hope and inspiration to many. He passed away in July, 2013 at the age of 61 but his legacy is a rich one,” said Mr. O’Brien.
“Colm was an avid reader. He grew up in the town and patronised the library, first when it was operated by the two Miss Rhattigans, then when it became a mobile service. Now, Moate has an outstanding building as a permanent base for the library. Ray Canavan first mooted the idea of commemorating Colm Murray as part of it – educator, reader, broadcaster, storyteller. The archive is something I know people will love to see when they visit this magnificent building,” said Mr. O’Brien.
HALF MILLION INVESTMENT IN MOATE
The official opening of the library was attended by local councillors, Senators and TDs, who joined with representatives of Westmeath County Council and the Moate community for what was described by County Librarian Paula O’Dornan as a “fabulous occasion.”
Pat Gallagher, CEO of Westmeath County Council, paid tribute to all who had worked to see the project completed.
“It’s a civic space to be proud of,” he said.
The input of Bernadette Solan, Conservation Architect, was acknowledged for achieving a sympathetic restoration of a landmark building that dates back to the 1830s.
The highly skilled work of contractor T. Murray was also recognised. The transformation of a building, originally designed by architect, John Hargrave in the 19th century, is now complete. Over the centuries, the building has served as a courthouse, a town hall, it has been a base for activities such as badminton and boxing, and was occupied by a company of the National Army during the Civil War.
Built at a cost of £3,111, today, its half a million euro refurbishment is a significant investment into Moate’s infrastructure. As home to the town’s library, the modern premises is being credited with giving a boost to the service. Last month, 2,000 people visited the library; it is now home to 5,000 new items of stock and in the past two weeks, more than 200 hundred children have signed up for the Summer Reading Challenge in Moate.
With a range of services, including book lending, internet access, research, digital material, magazines and periodicals, the library is now formally open, “an important building in Moate”.
