Trading as Fethard and Killusty Community Ballroom Limited.
Company registration number: 196001 -

We were established as a community owned limited company with charitable status in 1992 and operate as a volunteer organisation in Fethard Parish. The Ballroom is a large assemble hall which is a dedicated dance venue. At present we serve mainly an older cohort of patrons in a 50 mile radius of Fethard. As a designated dance facility the hall serves to enhance the quality of life for those who live in this area. While the style of dance changes over time, people will always want to dance in one form or another and Fethard Ballroom is being maintained for this purpose.

Fethard ballroom is located at the entry to Fethard town and it serves a large part of South Tipperary from Killenaule to Clonmel and from Carrick on Suir to Cashel. Depending on the nature of the event held there, it can attract patrons from much further afield, including from other outlying counties.

The Ballroom is Fethard’s largest assembly forum, suitable for large gatherings, meetings community activities, social events, dances, etc. It has been so for many years. The Ballroom is in weekly use as a Dance Hall, for playing cards and as a place to learn to dance. Community groups who wish to hold a large fund raiser can access its facilities, Fethard Historical society’s Annual Book Fair brings patrons from all four corners of Ireland each year, other sporting and community groups also use it.

Front from left Peter Grant {PRO} Mary Richardson, Chairman Seamus Barry, Treasurer Eileen Coady, Secretary William Morgan, Back from left: Sean O'Donovan, Brian Sheehy, John Long, Liam Sweeney, Gay Horan, Michael O’Rahilly

Peter Grant {PRO} Mary Richardson, Chairman Seamus Barry, Treasurer Eileen Coady, Acting Hon. Secretary Ceinwen Payne not in photo, Back from left: Sean O'Donovan, Brian Sheehy, John Long, Liam Sweeney, Gay Horan, Michael O’Rahilly.
Other Members not in photo are Tom Tobin, Paddy Hickey, Denis Fahey. Vincent Phelan and Leo Darcey.

Contacts; Eileen Coady - Bookings 086 0776420. Email eileencoady@hotmail.com. Website Editor Peter Grant - 087 6180541 fethardballroom@gmail.com. Seamus Barry - Chairman 086 2547162. Liam Sweeney - Catering 086 8246167. Sean O'Donovan - Development Committee 086 2594337. Seamus Maher Caretaker - 086 0579816

Today, 25 years after purchasing the Ballroom it continues to flourish as a fantastic venue for social dancing. It is still run by a dedicated group of community volunteers that maintain this hugely beneficial community asset which is used continuously for a variety of functions.

Every Sunday night, social dancing attracts visitors from all over the South-East to come along and dance on the spacious dance floor and listen to some of the ever-popular dance bands from far and near.

As the love of country music and social dancing continues to grow, the committee are responding by refurbishing the hall to the highest standards while retaining a friendly and social environment.

Development Committee members Front from left: Peter Grant, Brian Sheehy, William Morgan,Seamus Barry, Sean O'Donovan, John Long,

New Wheelchair Toilet is opened.
Jack Kenny, cutting the ribbon to official open Fethard Ballroom's new fully equipped wheelchair toilet on Sunday night last, July 15, at their weekly social dancing night. Photographed with local wheelchair user Jack are L to R: Seamus Barry, Chairman Fethard Ballroom, the extremely popular duo, Fran Curry and Muriel O'Connor, who provided the music on the night, and Eileen Coady, Ballroom Treasurer and Bookings Tel: 086 0776420.

TIPPERARIANA BOOK FAIR is an annual Book Fair for Book Lovers and Collectors which takes place 2nd Sunday in February every year at Fethard Ballroom since 1996.

In 2001The committee continued to improve the facilities under the direction of new chairman Mick Aherne, fitting new doors and windows, new carpeting, and non-slip floor covering in the kitchen. These improvements helped to eliminate draughts and reduce heat loss and add to the comfort of patrons.

Twelve years ago, on St. Patrick’s night, 17 March 1993, the former Country Club Ballroom1997 was a very difficult year for the Ballroom with the possibility of closure due to a large increase in insurance premium for the facility and also some insurance claims against the Ballroom. With outstanding dedication and determination, the committee tackled these problems and successfully turned around this tough situation and have never looked back since.

In the following years the committee, using mainly voluntary labour, upgraded the hall to the tremendous facility it is today, fitting out a new fully equipped kitchen, new doors and windows, new carpeting and non-slip floor covering, and vast improvements to the heating system to eliminate draughts, reduce heat loss and add to the comfort of patrons.

Today, the Ballroom is completely paid for and self-sustaining and great credit is due to the present committee who stuck with the project, and the many others who also worked with the committee over the past twelve years. Well done!

We can show our appreciation by coming along with our friends and enjoying a dance on Sunday nights! The committee assure us a very warm welcome.

The Ballroom property includes extensive riverside amenity which is maintained by Tipperary County Council. The park and river walk was implemented by Fethard Tidy Towns in partnership with Tipperary County Council.

The limited company received charitable status and in 1995 the accumulated debt of £47,341 was reduced to £20,379, with great credit going to the Fethard Festival ‘Mayoral Candidates’ who worked extremely hard to reduce the debt and enable repayments of the subscriber loans to commence. The directors for that year were: Bernard Walsh (chairman); Peter Grant (vice-chairman); Seamus Barry (treasurer); Teresa Roche (asst. treasurer); Robert Phelan (secretary); Joe Keane (asst. secretary); Chris O'Dwyer; David O'Donnell; Catherine O'Connell; Peggy Colville; Pat Byrne and Paddy Hickey. Joan Heffernan, Gay Horan and James Roche were later co-opted on to the Board.

Members of Fethard Historical Society planning the the first ever ‘Book Fair’ held on February 11, 1996, in Fethard Ballroom. The event opened at 2.30pm with a lecture and valuation of ‘Antiquarian Books’ by the late Rudi Holzapfel from Tipperary Town. Back L to R: Peter Grant, Dóirín Saurus. Front L to R: Mary Hanrahan, Chris Nevin, Kitty Delany and Terry Cunningham.

Fethard Historical Society hold their annual Tipperariana Book Fair on the second Sunday in February each year. The Book Fair was first held in 1996 and has now grown to be one of the largest, if not the largest, book fairs in Ireland. Dealers come from places as far away as Armagh City in the North of Ireland, Schull in the South West, and from many places in between. The variety of books available to buy on the day range from 10c paperbacks to €500 antique collector items. It is a great place to find a book that you may have been seeking for years - and if it is not available on the day you can be sure the dealers will find it for you. If you have valuable books at home you can also bring them along and get them valued without obligation. Ask the organisers (Fethard Historical Society) for directions on this.

Fethard Country Club Ballroom was first established as the Capitol Cinema in 1946 and thrived for 18 years. In 1963 with the coming of television its use as a cinema came to an end.
In 1967 a local group, ‘Fethard Enterprises’, headed by Paddy O’Flynn acquired the premises and officially opened in December of the same year as ‘The Country Club’ dance hall.
This group known as ‘Fethard Enterprises’ later sold it to Wexford business man Danny Doyle in 1972, who added Fethard to his list of other hugely successful dance halls run around Ireland.