New Carlow town event space set for official opening today

‘The Exchange’ will be officially opened in Carlow Town this morning (Friday, 23rd September).

The 332 square meters location at Potato Market has been designed to be a unique event space in the heart of the town.

It’ll be the new centrepiece of the Carlow Farmers Market but it’s also hoped that many other local organisations and groups will use it.

Mayor Fintan Phelan says it brings with it a range of benefits, telling KCLR News “It’s going to be a multi-functional event centre and people have seen it under construction over the past number of months, it’s a semi-covered outdoor space and it’s going to be a space right in beside Detail Menswear and Tully’s old yard, the hope is it will allow increased footfall in our town centre and it offers a new space for the community in Carlow to enjoy”.

He adds “It can be used for a multitude of events, primarily I’m thinking of the Carlow Farmers Market who’ll be housed in this new Exchange, it can also be used for an outdoor cinema as an example, conferences, crafts, dance, music, entertainment, there’s a whole host of uses that the exchange will be used for and I’m really looking forward to seeing some events in it”.

Today’s launch will be hosted by Cathaoirleach of Carlow County Council, Cllr. Brian O’Donoghue and will be attended by many of the local stakeholders who supported the local authority’s redevelopment of this key site.

Cllr. O’Donoghue says “The Exchange will be a wonderful amenity for Carlow Town and county. It will bring renewed life to an important part of Carlow town centre and has been cleverly designed to maximise its use by the local community.”

Also speaking ahead of the official opening, Kathleen Holohan, Chief Executive of Carlow County Council said “This project is a statement of intent, highlighting the ambition within Carlow County Council to regenerate and transform the town centre.  I would like to acknowledge and thank all stakeholders including the elected members who supported the development of this facility through the planning and construction stages.  Through the URDF funding already secured I look forward to further regeneration and enhancement of our principal town.”

Funding for this project was secured through the Town & Village Accelerate Scheme and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media and Open Public Spaces Scheme.

Event bookings for The Exchange will be organised by Carlow County Council’s Economic Development Department and interested users are encouraged to make enquiries via Pierce Kavanagh on [email protected] or by calling 059-9129783.