Kilmantin Art Gallery on Bridge Street in Wicklow town.
Kilmantin Art Gallery had to close after a major sewage leak.
Kilmantin Art Gallery in Wicklow town is set to reopen after being forced to close for over three weeks after a raw sewage leak in the property on Bridge Street.
The gallery was formed in 1999 and provides a space for local artists to display their paintings, and other arts and crafts.
Staff arriving to open up Kilmantin Art Gallery on the morning of Monday, October 7, found that the premises floor covered in raw sewage, which was spewing up from a man hole, after a night of heavy rainfall.
Secretary of Kilmantin Arts, Berilyn Teeling said: “It was quite the shock to find the premises in such a condition. We were the only property on the street that ended up flooding, which was good for everyone else but not such good news for us.
“We actually have a man hole inside the shop, which is very unusual. The man hole appears to date back to when there was a mall in the area. There was a lot of heavy rain and what appeared to have been blocked pipes, which caused raw sewage to seep through the man hole cover. The stench involved was truly horrific.
“We were lucky enough that most of the paintings were hanging up on the walls so they weren’t damaged. We had a few paintings in storage which ended up slightly damaged, but not many, so we were fortunate. Our artists came in and collected their paintings ad cleared out all our stock before we carried out a major clean-up. It actually provided us with the opportunity to get rid of some things that were probably ready for the skip anyway.”
Kilmantin Art Gallery on Bridge Street in Wicklow town.
The artists involved in the collective were concerned over how long the gallery could end up closed for, especially with the busy Christmas season arriving fast.
Berilyn added: “Issues involving insurance can often drag on and we were worried we wouldn’t be able to reopen back up in time for Christmas, but thankfully our landlord is dealing with the matter. Ashford Contract Cleaners came out and did a great job in cleaning the whole place up. They carried out what can only be described as a deep clean and also had a purifier in place for two days to help eliminate the stench. Often insurance issues can take months to resolve so things haven’t actually worked out too badly overall. Things certainly could have been a lot worse.”
Kilmantin Art Gallery will hold a Christmas art exhibition on Saturday, November 30, and Sunday, December 1, from 11am to 4pm on both days.