Delvin's 45 year wait for a library set to continue

Over four decades after the library in Delvin closed, the town's wait to have the service restored will continue for another few years at least, councillors were informed at the monthly meeting of Mullingar Kinnegad Municipal District (MKMD).

Responding to a motion from Cllr Frank McDermott calling for the “immediate restoration” of library services in the town, MKMD said that nationally the Public Library benchmarks and standards state that the minimum size for a library should be 500m2 serving a population of 3000.

“There are a number of existing libraries in close proximity to Delvin – Mullingar, Castlepollard and Athboy. In addition, a new library for Kinnegad is a priority project for Westmeath County Council which will be delivered in the next two years. There are currently no proposals to develop a library in Delvin,” MKMD said.

Cllr McDermott said that he was contacted by a number of the town's residents who are eager to have the library service restored. He said the he was “shocked and embarrassed” to learn that the town's library closed in 1978.

He said that if you include Riverdale Electoral District, Clonmellon and Delvin, the population of the catchment are is “four thousand plus”.

Cllr McDermott said that there is a “huge” plot of land near Clonyn Castle and there is a “glorious opportunity” to develop social housing and a new library together.

He said that “anyone who knows Delvin will know that it needs a bit of an injection” and that he recommends the council “proceeds along those lines”.

Cllr Paddy Hill voiced his support for Cllr McDermott's proposal and said that a new library would be a “great asset and boost” for the town.

“While it may not happen tomorrow, we should proceed down that road and hopefully it would be successful. All the indications are that the population of north Westmeath will continue to grow,” he said.

Cllr Denis Leonard said that “telling the people living in Delvin that they have a local library is just not on”.

“It's roughly 20km from Delvin to Castlepollard, 20km to Kinnegad, 20km to Mullingar...If climate change [action] means anything, it's about local people having local services as local as possible,” he said.

Cllr Hazel Smyth said that it is a “sad day” when library services are withdrawn from a town because aside from the book lending service, they “provide a space for communities to gather, meet, and discuss different issues”.

She added that “it wouldn't require that much of an effort” to restore the library service in Delvin.

Director of Services David Jones said that the responses from the elected representatives have “thrown up some ideas for a holistic approach”.

“Let's see what seed is generated into the future,” he said.