The Rainbow Ballroom, turkish baths in County Leitrim

What is recorded here

The Rainbow Ballroom in Brockagh Lower put the search for love inside a corrugated-iron hall. During a good Leitrim downpour, a proposal could have been accepted, refused and mistaken for an offer of a lift home before either party knew they were engaged.

Detached ballroom, built in 1934, by John McGivern. Rendered stepped gabled front elevation with corrugated-iron hall behind with corrugated-iron walls and segmental arched corrugated-iron roof. Flat-roofed corrugated-iron bay to west.

The Rainbow is typical in form and style to the ballrooms that became popular in rural Ireland during the mid-twentieth century. These halls, while simple in their construction and use of materials, were often an important focus for communities and played a significant role in the social history of Ireland. It represents the 'Showband' era of Ireland. The 'Ballroom of Romance' in Glenfarne was the setting of a short story of the same name, 'The Ballroom of Romance' by William Trevor.

From the Buildings of Ireland (National Inventory of Architectural Heritage) record 30913007

This does not grant access. Most recorded buildings are privately owned; view them only from public ground unless the owner allows entry.

Places near here

Photo credits

National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
Kenneth Allen, Geograph · CC BY-SA 2.0
https://wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/obf_images/9d/3a/d226702f3e0deddf6dc6f5d8e3e2.jpg Gallery: https://wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/image/M0006003.html Wellcome Collection gallery (2018-04-03): https://wellcomecollection.org/works/avsn99bm CC-BY-4.0, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0
Kenneth Allen, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
N Chadwick, Geograph · CC BY-SA 2.0
N Chadwick, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
Anne Burgess, Geograph · CC BY-SA 2.0
Gerard Lovett from ireland, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0
Eric Jones, Geograph · Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0