Push to secure parts of St Peter’s campus for public use

Castlepollard Town Team are working with Westmeath County Council in a bid to secure significant portions of the St Peter’s campus for community use, Cllr Alfie Devine has confirmed.

Cllr Devine, who chairs the Town Team, said the group has submitted a proposal to the council asking it to lodge an expression of interest with the HSE, which is preparing to dispose of the former St Peter’s complex.

He said the Town Team hope to preserve key elements of the campus, including the “very sensitive” Angels Plot graveyard, and to ensure it remains protected and accessible as a memorial space for future generations.

“We want to make sure that the Angels Plot is kept, maintained, and treated with the respect it deserves,” he said. “People need to be able to go there and pay their respects.”

The group are also seeking to acquire surrounding lands for biodiversity projects, as well as the sports hall and associated green areas. Cllr Devine said the facility could serve a wide range of local groups, adding that the town is currently limited to a single sports hall for multiple clubs.

“There’s huge demand, from GAA to basketball, badminton, soccer, tennis and more,” he said, adding that the local secondary school reached a Leinster hockey final last year but “had nowhere to train”.

Cllr Devine noted that all buildings on the campus, including the old Pollard House, the former hospital, the chapel and even the old jail located among the outbuildings, are protected structures.

“The whole campus is protected. It’s very sensitive,” he said. “Anything that happens there in the future will have to be carefully planned with Westmeath County Council.”

He added that the Town Team have also begun engaging with the Longford Westmeath ETB about a possible feasibility study into using the old residential building for third-level training, apprenticeships or adult education in the midlands.

Westmeath County Council are now preparing a further submission to the HSE following a meeting with the Town Team last week. Cllr Devine said it will likely be several weeks before any progress is known.

St Peter’s sits on what was once the Pollard-Urquhart family estate (Kinturk Demesne). Kinturk House dates from the Georgian era. The site includes roughly 15 protected structures, across about 12 hectares. In 1934, the Sisters of the Sacred Heart purchased the House and began operating what became known as the Castlepollard Mother and Baby Home.

Between 1938 and 1941, a new hospital building was added, designed by architect TJ Cullen, funded in part by the Irish Hospitals Sweepstakes. After the home closed in 1971, the premises were taken over by the Midland Health Board and later by the HSE, operating until 2014 as a care centre.