Date: 15 Sept 2025
A gathering of some of the people involved in the conservation and repair work to the Tin Shop in Barnesmore
The Tin Shop in Barnesmore is owned by Ethna Martin and Liam Travers and the gathering of some of the people involved in it’s first phase of conservation and repair works took place on Friday 12th September on Ethna’s 95th birthday.
Many people have fond memories of using this iconic shop and more recently couples have taken their wedding photographs in front of the Tin Shop. The shop fell into poor repair and the future was uncertain. Thanks to the overwhelming encouragement to the Martin and Travers family from the local community, Emer Travers on behalf of her Father and her Aunt, was successful in an application under the Built Heritage Investment Scheme (BHIS) 2025 for the repair and conservation of the external envelope of the shop. Thanks to Brendan Brady of Brady Construction Services for rising to the challenge and working alongside Duncan McLaren Conservation Architect from Dedalus Architecture to carefully keep as much of the original structure as possible and painstakingly restoring it like for like.
Another person who was instrumental in this project was John Friel of Friary Timber Products Limited, he was unfortunately not able to make the gathering, but did an incredible job of restoring the windows. This shop is still part of the community and a lovely gesture in this restoration project was the Donegal Men’s Shed helping to restore the detailed fretted barge board on the front of the building which is now looking as good as new.
The Martin and Travers Family are now focusing their attention on restoring the inside of the Tin Shop. A bit more work to go, but the future is looking bright for bringing this little shop back into use once again.
The Built Heritage Investment Scheme supports the repair of buildings protected under the Planning Acts and is run by the National Built Heritage Service (NBHS) and administered by the Conservation Office of Donegal County Council. The BHIS 2026 is currently open for applications and closes on 26th September for further details visit https://www.donegalcoco.ie/en/services/planning/architectural-conservation/grant-schemes
