Bookings for all classes (Speech & Drama, Hip Hop, Ballet and Guitar) can be made by calling (042) 966 66 66
History
The Wesleyan Arts and Cultural Centre is a dedicated centre of learning and education for all disciplines of arts, including performance, visual and literary. The centre is located in the former Methodist Chapel on Adelaide Row, Bailieborough.
The chapel was originally constructed in 1833 to serve the needs of the local Methodist community in the town of Bailieborough. Unfortunately, over the following 160 years, the local Methodist community faded away through emigration. By the early 1990’s, the local Methodist community had vacated the property and the chapel was in disrepair. Local Art Enthusiastic Maura Smyth undertook to renovate and restore the old Chapel. This included replacing the old roof and other reconstructive works. This allowed Maura to preserve the oldest building in the town of Bailieborough for future generations of Bailieborough residents.
Working alongside Maura is her daughter Niamh. Niamh is a qualified secondary school art teacher with a post graduate diploma in dance and a Masters in curatorial studies. Initially, the centre operated on a part-time basis running exhibitions, art and drama classes and also a local tourist information service. Over the subsequent years, it broadened its range of services to include lectures, work shops, dance classes, performances, film shows, teacher training courses and heritage and history walks, talks and events. In 2002, Maura and Niamh made a brave move and began operating it on a full time basis. Since then, record attendances have proven Niamh’s and Maura’s decision to invest their time and energy to be correct.
An ongoing project for the Bailieborough Arts Centre has been the desire to twin the town of Bailieborough, Cavan with its sister town of Bailieborough in Ontario, Canada. Much progress has been made on this initiative in recent years and it is hoped that it will come to fruition in the next year.
As part of the Bailieborough 400 commemorations, the centre will host a Henry James Literary Festival later in the year. A high profile Japanese Academic, Professor Naoyuki Mizuno from the University of Kyoto, who has translated a number of Henry James’s works into Japanese will visit Bailieborough and give a series of lectures on Henry James’s life and works.
Over the next number of years, both Maura and Niamh hope to expand the range of activities in Bailieborough Arts Centre through the construction of an extension to include a new Multi Disciplinary Space which will cater for exciting Art, Drama & Dance performances, and heritage and history events.
Mission Statement
“Providing a centre of excellence, which develops a creative and dynamic programme that inspires and engages artists, nurtures a diverse audience and enriches local community participation. The potential of arts and culture to promote tolerance, contribute to citizenship and embed peace is limited only by our imagination.”
Advisory Board