A former pub on Main Street in Elphin could return to use under a planning application that would add a larger two-storey extension and a covered beer garden, reported by the Roscommon Herald. The proposal would give the north Roscommon village a venue with space for events, with Roscommon County Council due to decide by 5 January 2027.

The council’s planning register, as stated on Permission.ie, lists Cathal and Yvonne King against the application, which is currently at pre-validation stage. The proposal covers renovation of the existing pub building and conversion of former residential accommodation for use as ancillary public house space.

The applicants also propose an external courtyard and beer garden featuring a retractable roof and stage, together with alterations to existing buildings and elevations.

An existing rear extension would be demolished and replaced with a substantially larger two-storey extension, providing around 114 square metres at ground-floor level and 78 square metres at first-floor level.

An existing two-storey granary building of approximately 72 square metres would be refurbished and converted for uses associated with the pub. The plans also include rear car parking, a new entrance gate, landscaping, drainage works and other associated site development works.

Elphin is a village in north Roscommon whose population rose to 715 at the 2022 census, up from 565 in 2016, according to Wikipedia. It is home to a restored 18th-century windmill dating from around 1730, as stated in its Wikipedia entry, which is open to visitors and gives the main street a heritage draw.

The structural driver is adaptive reuse of a closed village pub, with a new extension, a converted granary and a covered courtyard giving the building space for events and live performance alongside its bar.

The application sits at an early stage, and the proposals remain subject to the council’s decision and any conditions attached to a grant of permission.

For the sector, the Elphin scheme shows rural operators reopening closed pubs through extension and event space rather than leaving the buildings vacant.