M. Gallagher Public House

Detached corner-sited six-bay single-storey public house and dwelling with attic level, built c. 1860, having three-bay public house to the east end and three-bay dwelling to the west end. Various modern single- and two-storey extensions to the rear (south) and to the south-east. Formerly also in use as a post office. Pitched thatched roof to original building have raised rendered verges to the gable ends (east and west), and with three smooth rendered chimneystacks (one to either gable end and one offset to the west side of centre. Roughcast rendered walls over smooth rendered plinth course, and with raised render block quoins to the corners. Square-headed window openings to the dwelling to the west end having painted sills and three-over-three and one-over-one pane timber sliding sash windows; square-headed window openings to public house to the east end having replacement window fittings. Square-headed doorway to dwelling having smooth rendered reveal and replacement timber door; square-headed doorway to public house having battened timber double-doors with inner timber double-doors with glazed upper panels. Painted timber fascia over public house having moulded timber surround. Road-fronted to the east end of the centre of Convoy with carpark to the west.

This attractive and substantial public house with attached dwelling, of mid-to-late nineteenth century date, retains much of its early character and form despite some modern interventions and the construction of modern additions to the rear. The irregular spacing and sizing of the openings to the main elevation creates an appealing vernacular appearance, while the retention of a number of the timber sliding sash windows and the early doors and inner doors to the public house adds to its integrity. Of particular significance is the survival of the thatched roof, which is now becoming an increasingly rare feature in Donegal, particularly in the towns and villages in the county. There were formerly a number of thatched buildings in Convoy, including a terrace of thatched houses to the east side of the Church of Ireland church (see 40832011), of which this building is the last survival. This building was formerly in use as a post office c. 1860 – 1910 (Griffith’s Valuation map c. 1860 and Ordnance Survey twenty-five inch map of 1906, which adds another level of social and local significance to this building. This appealing thatched building occupies a landmark corner site to the east end of the centre of Convoy, and makes a strongly positive contribution to the streetscape of the village.