Ballitore Garda Síochána Station

Detached five-bay two-storey Garda Síochána Station, built 1942. Refenestrated, c.1990. Hipped roof with slate. Red clay ridge tiles. Red brick chimney stack. Overhanging sproketed timber eaves. Cast-iron rainwater goods. Roughcast walls. Painted. Square-headed window openings (in round-headed panels to ground floor). Stone sills. Replacement uPVC casement windows, c.1995. Square-headed door openings. Profiled rendered advanced doorcases. Replacement timber panelled doors, c.1960. Set back from road in own grounds. Lawns to forecourt. Rendered boundary wall to front (south) with rendered piers having iron gates.

Ballitore Garda Síochána Station, which has been well-maintained, is of considerable social and historical interest as one of the earliest purpose-built Garda Síochána stations in County Kildare. Built by the Board of Works (later the Office of Public Works) to replace outmoded Royal Irish Constabulary Barracks, the building follows a standard design comprising a symmetrically-planned block with door openings to the end bays to ground floor – the building is identical to the Garda Station at Kilcock (11802017/KD-05-02-17), which attests to a common planning source. Composed of graceful proportions the front (south) elevation is provided with subtle decoration in the form of round-headed panels to the window openings to ground floor and profiled doorcases. The station retains some of its original features and materials including a slate roof, although the replacement fenestration is not an attractive addition and the re-instatement of timber fenestration (using the extant models at Kilcock as a reference) would benefit the composition. The station forms an attractive feature on the road leading out of Ballitore to the east.