Dungarvan Town Park

At a meeting in April 1897 the Town Commissioners asked the Borough Surveyor to make an estimate of the cost of a bandstand for the park which would be paid for out of the Gibbon's bequest.

By June they had decided on a design which would be supplied by McFarlane of Glasgow. In July a deputation from the local brass band appealed to the Commissioners to go ahead with the erection of the band stand. The Commissioners invited tenders for a 'metal band stand of octagon shape, with an iron roof but without a ceiling'. On 5 August Michael Power's tender was accepted at £16. George Stokes ordered the band stand components from McFarlanes for which he was paid £61.

The band committee picked the following colours for the new band stand: Spire - gold; Roof  - light green; Floating - white; Columns - bronze; Railings - light green; Cantilever - white. McFarlanes also supplied glass lanterns for the band stand. In the 1920s or 1930s the cast iron railings connecting the pillars were removed and replaced by single ugly looking bars and at the same time the floor space was extended. These bars have been replaced in recent years by the U.D.C. with modern railings which do not blend with the old iron work.

Author: Willie Fraher