Who We Are
Board of Directors
Courthouse Arts Centre
Courthouse Arts Centre
We are currently open Wednesday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm.
The venue is used outside of these times for workshops and residencies.
The Courthouse Arts Centre is located in the heart of Tinahely, Co. Wicklow – Just 40 minutes drive from Carlow and an hour and a half drive from Dublin. GPS : Latitude 52.7997634 Longitude -6.4631844 and Map Click Here
Madelines B&B – Booking
Murphy’s Hotel – Booking
Mrs. Bridget Malone’s B&B – +353 (0)402 38100
Coolatin self-catering – Booking
Stoops B&B – Booking
Ballybeg Private Hire – Booking
Accommodation in Shillelagh – Booking
Self-Catering Turrock Cottage Shillelagh – Booking
Self-Catering Tigh Na Ri Rua Kiltegan – Bookings
Madeline’s Restautant – Undergoing renovations. Opening in March.
O Connors Pub Tinahely – 0402 38115 – Facebook
Murphy’s Pub Tinahely – 0402 38109 – Facebook
Sha-Roe Clonegall 053 9375636 – Facebook
D’lish Coffee shop – 0402 28828
Artisan foods, coffee shops and children’s activities
Tinahely Farm Shop – Website
Rathwood – Website
The Chocolate Garden – Website
Tinahely Cabs
Fiona on +353 (0)86 8157065
Joe on +353 (0)87 9942409
Go to tinahely.ie for further links
With support from Fás, providing part-time positions under its C.E scheme and the Arts Council, providing programming funds under annual funding, the Courthouse established itself as south Wicklow’s premier professional venue delivering a strong multi-disciplinary arts programme. During the first ten years the Courthouse was nurtured, developed and managed by Sharon Corcoran its first Artistic Director. Since then the venue has been managed by Shelly Hayes (2006-2010) Deryn O Callahan (2010-2013) Maggie Gallagher (2014 - 2018) Hannah Mullan (2018 - 2019) and currently Denise McGrath (2019).
The courthouse in Tinahely was built in 1843, but by the 1950s it was used as much for community activities such as dances and movies as for court sessions. By the 1980s it had fallen into complete disrepair and disuse, and had become, moreover, a serious eyesore in the village. A local committee was formed to take on the task of restoring the building. With grant aid from FAS (the Training and Employment Authority) which enabled the hiring and training of local youths to carry out the work, and local fundraising for the cost of materials, the courthouse was restored and opened as a centre for arts, culture and heritage in January, 1996.
The Courthouse Arts Centre is now at the heart of the Tinahely community and an important geographical landmark in the county and a uniquely visible and valuable asset in the cultural landscape of south Wicklow, north Carlow and north Wexford.
The Village of Tinahely (Tigh na hÉille) is set amidst the rolling hills of South Wicklow in the valley of the Derry River, close to the borders of Co. Carlow and Co. Wexford. It is a village steeped in history, having been burnt to the ground in 1798 and either directly or indirectly involved in many historical events ever since.
As part of the Coolattin Estate which was owned by the Fitzwilliam family, it is a village full of character and folklore. Indeed, one of the village’s pubs bears the name ‘Black Tom’s’ for Thomas Wentworth who willed the estate of Coolattin to the Fitzwilliam family. For many years Tinahely was known far and wide as a famous market town and particularly for its annual 8th of May horse fair, second only to the one in Ballinasloe.
The main feature of the town is its triangular “Market Square” dominated by the imposing Market House. Until the mid 1950’s this house enabled local farmers to market their produce locally. The market house was purchased and refurbished by Tinahely Courthouse Ltd. with assistance from Wicklow County Council and the Department of Environment’s Conservation grants scheme. It is currently a public library.
Facing the Market House is the beautifully restored 19th century Courthouse which now serves as a vibrant centre for the arts with a regular programmes of exhibitions, concerts, films, and theatre productions.
Today, Tinahely is known nationally for the annual county show which is held on August Bank Holiday Monday and is one of the largest agricultural shows in Ireland, attracting up to 20,000 visitors and exhibitors.
There are a range of services in the village of Tinahely including banking/bureau de change, post office, two pubs, a hotel, and shops. Accommodation is plentiful in local B&Bs as well as self-catering cottages, guest houses and hotels.
Visitors can avail of numerous amenities including horse riding, golf, angling, and hill walking along the Wicklow Way. Tomnafinnoge Wood lies between Tinahely and Shillelagh, and is one of the last remnants of Ireland’s original oak woodlands which once blanketed south Wicklow. Within an hour’s drive of Tinahely are the magnificent monastic settlement of Glendalough, Powerscourt House and Gardens, Glenmalure, and the “Featherbed” uplands. Wicklow, known as the Garden of Ireland, boasts some of the most spectacular landscapes and vistas in the country, as well as a host of activities for visitors, whether their interests are sporting and outdoorsy, or cultural and artistic.
The venue offers comprehensive artistic and outreach programmes in an atmospheric and intimate space, hosting a wide variety of multi-disciplinary arts events and workshops. Our programme includes: Theatre, Dance, Music, Film, Visual Arts, Comedy, Literature and an Education/Outreach programme. We are committed to offering emerging artists a platform to showcase their work.
The Courthouse Arts Centre is a flexible performance space and Gallery. As a former Courthouse it has a large downstairs space and a gallery upstairs where audiences enjoy a bird’s eye view of any performance.
The flexibility of the space allows for variations in how it is employed. This has been appreciated and exploited by many artists and performers using the space. Free form dance performances, theatre in the round, staged events and workshops have all been held here as have more intimate candle lit events such as the Courthouse Café.
We use both the upstairs and the downstairs area as the Gallery space.
The main space, downstairs, is wheelchair accessible.
LED track lighting, 25 movable units for downstairs gallery. Fixed lighting for upstairs gallery.
5.1 Meters wide (17 ft) x 2.6 Meters deep (8 ft) x 14″ (1.2 ft) high
» 1x Allen and Heath SQ5, 16 Faders, 48 channels
» Linked to Apple Macbook Pro with Logic Pro 10 for recording
» 1 x Dynacord Powermate 600 – 8 Channel(6xlr 2 stereo)
» 1 Dbx Driverack PA
» 1 Crown XLS 2500
» 4 Crown XLS 1000
» 1 Crown XLS 2502 Drivecore
» 2 Bose 1600 series
» 2 Martin Audio AQ10
» 4 Martin Audio S-12
» 4 Martin Audio EM26
» 2 Martin Audio ICT 300
» 4 Martin X12s
» 3 x RS200M 300w monitors
» 1 PL80 Supercardioid
» 4 Shure SM58
» 4 Shure SM57
» 1 Shure Beta 52A2
» 2 x Rhode MS Dynamic
» 2 Shure P458
» 1 Shure B41.0
» 4 Radial Pro DI
» 1 Radial Pro DI Stere0
» 3 Radial Pro DI Active Mono
» 8 x Long Mic Stands
» 2 x Table stands
» 4x Short Boom Stands
» 4 Guitar Leads
» 15 XLR 10 Meter
» 9 XLR Short
» 3 RCA Video
» 3 RCA L&R
» 1 RCA L&R&V
» 1 RCA L&R to mini Jack
»4 XLR Female to ¼” Jack
» 5 XLR Male to Speakon
» 1 x main backwall black, 4 x side blacks.
» 8 x Chauvet COREpar 80 USB. LED
» 6 x Chauvet SlimPAR Pro W. LED
» 6 x Chauvet Ovation E910FC 36deg. LED
» ChamSys Magic Q40N. Avolite Power Cube.
Old 16amp system (mainly used for offsite)
» Three CCT Minuette 650W profiles 16A plug lamps
» Five CCT Minuette 500W Fresnel 16A plug lamps
» One Zero 88, 6-channel dimmer rack, 6 x 10A cw 12x16A output
» One Zero 88, 6-channel desk – NO PRESETS!
» Four 10m cables
» Four 5m cables
5.1 Meters wide (17 ft) x 2.6 Meters deep (8 ft) x 14″ (1.2 ft) high
» Christie LW555 Projector 5500 lumens
» Mortised Screen – 16 x 9 ratio
» DVD : Playback from Apple Macbook Pro
» House Speakers as above