The Midway Motor Works

Detached five-bay single-storey former garage, built c.1950. Later in use as shop, now out of use. Flat and lean-to ashfelt roof behind raised parapet with central stepped pediment with star motif. Smooth rendered walls with recessed pebbledashed panels and raised rendered detailing. Smooth rendered fascia to parapet with raised rendered lettering reading ' The Midway Motor Works' and 'All Accessories Stocked'. Smooth rendered plinth to base. Square-headed window openings with concrete sill courses. Fixed three-pane timber framed windows to two western bays and fixed single-pane windows with timber casements over to two bays to east. Central square-headed carriage-arch with double timber sheeted doors. Road-fronted to the west of the centre of Tyrrellspass.

This former garage is a good example of 1940s/50s architecture and is a rare find in the architectural landscape of Westmeath. As its name suggests, the former 'Midway Motor Works' occupies a central position in Tyrrellspass, which is halfway between Dublin and Galway. With a stepped and pedimented parapet, masking the roof, and linear fenestration, this commercial structure expresses a functional design that was influenced by the Art Deco and the Modernist movements. It remains an important part of the architectural heritage of Tyrrellspass, contrasting attractively with the mainly early nineteenth-century building stock of the village.