St Patricks Hall, 60 Main Street, Fintona, Co Tyrone, BT78 2AD

St Patrick's Hall is a detached, classically styled hall set on a sloping site to the south side of Main Street in Fintona. The building displays High Victorian architectural character from around 1880, though it was extensively remodelled in 1935 under the direction of the Very Reverend Bernard Canon Maguire, as recorded by a datestone within the building.

The hall is rectangular in plan, rising two storeys to the north and three storeys to the south due to the sloping topography. The pitched natural slate roof sits on corbelled eaves with raised verges on ogee moulded kneelers, and features a copper cupola at its centre. The walls are rendered with ruled-and-lined finish over a moulded plinth.

The principal north gable is highly ornate, presenting a breakfront with a triangular pediment containing a dentilled cornice and smooth rendered plaque above a plain entablature supported by fluted Corinthian pilasters. A single-storey flat-roofed porch is abutted at the centre, featuring an arched entrance opening with moulded archivolt and keyblock. Double-leaf five-panelled timber doors with a sunburst fanlight are flanked by a pair of Corinthian colonettes on a projecting plinth, supporting a simple frieze engraved 'St Patrick's Hall' beneath a dentilled cornice and parapet. A single square-headed 1/1 sliding sash window with margin lights appears to the east in a moulded architrave with projecting cornice and sill. The east elevation is eight windows wide, with a mix of arched timber-framed sliding sash windows to the hall and square-headed timber-framed 4/4 sliding sash windows elsewhere, all with sandstone sills. The south gable contains a replacement square-headed vertically sheeted timber entrance door with transom at its centre and two square-headed timber casement windows at second floor level. A single-storey rendered canted extension abuts the north, and a two-storey lean-to extension (built around 1995) extends to the west.

Architectural evidence suggests that the Very Reverend Maguire's 1935 remodelling was extensive. While the late 19th-century High Victorian façade was retained, displaying the characteristic exuberance of that era with ornate neo-Renaissance stone detailing including carved Corinthian capitals and heavy cornicing, the remainder of the hall is considerably plainer in character. The porch retains late 19th-century encaustic floor tiles, and some internal joinery appears to date from this period. Steel frame construction is evident elsewhere within the building. The border framing the proscenium arch displays early 20th-century characteristics, whilst the gate piers at the boundary are ornamented with a stepped motif typical of 1930s architecture.

The property appears in the Annual Revision Records for the first time in 1877 as a house, offices and garden occupied by George Bullock & Company and leased from John S Eccles, valued at £50. The occupier changed to Samuel M McCrea in 1928. Local historical records describe dances held in the hall, which were formal occasions with meals provided and bands engaged for special events, with guests travelling from across Tyrone and beyond. American soldiers stationed in the area were noted as particularly popular guests.

The setting comprises a car park to the south, with the building bounded to the road at the north by a concrete parapet wall surmounted by modern steel railings. Square gate piers at east and west contain recessed panels ornamented with 1930s detailing on each face, surmounted by cross-gabled coping. The building represents an unusual example of grand, formal classical styling in a small town context, retaining many original features and distinctive character.