Macroom Town Hall
Macroom Town Hall, or Halla an Bhaile Maigh Chromtha, is in West Square, Macroom, County Cork, Ireland. It is currently used by Cork County Council to provide local services.
The site began as a market house built by the McCarthy family in 1620. Over time it changed hands and, in 1713, Queen Anne confirmed the right to hold markets. In 1799, a raid by United Irishmen led to executions and the remains of some raiders were displayed on spikes above the market house.
When the old building became dilapidated, it was rebuilt around 1820. In the late 19th century, town commissioners decided to convert the market house for municipal use, with Olivia Charlotte Guinness, Baroness Ardilaun, allowing the site. In 1899 the urban district council took over the project, which was redesigned by architect Albert William Barnard and built by Buckley Bros, Ovens, at a cost of £1,320. The conversion was completed in late 1904.
The new front has five bays, with the center bays projecting forward, a doorway and a clock above, and stairs on both sides. The windows vary by bay.
In March 1921, a bomb was thrown into the town hall, injuring cadets from the Auxiliary Division. After the war, a memorial cross was placed nearby to remember those who fought in the Irish War of Independence.
De La Salle College opened in the town hall in 1933 as temporary classrooms and moved to a new building in 1936.
A sculpture called The Family, showing two parents and two children, was unveiled in 1996 by President Mary Robinson, who also had a shield installed on the front of the building. A shield commemorating Dermot Desmond receiving the Freedom of the Town was added in 1998.
The town hall remained the offices of the urban district council until 2002, then the town council, until 2014 when local government reform merged town administration with Cork County Council.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 11:34 (CET).