In 1945 the county ploughing championships were held in Glenamaddy and were a huge success.
After the ploughing, a dance to commemorate the event and to formally announce the winners was held in the Town Hall.
Sadly though the Town Hall was not nearly big enough to hold the crowds that wished to attend the dance so Mr. James
Keaveney from Esker, Glenamaddy and his colleagues came up with the idea that a larger venue should be built to hold the large
crowds that attended functions of this type in Glenamaddy.

In 1947 the ballroom was built by James and John Keaveney on the Kilkerrin Road in Glenamaddy, but because this was during
the war and because of some objections they could not hold get a licence to hold dances.
Eventually they got the licence and on the 27th of April 1949 the first dance was held in The Esker Ballroom with
the music supplied by the Des Fretwell Orchestra. With a 3,000 square ft. maple dance floor it was a "state-of-the art" venue.
Note below, that the first dance lasted from 10 p.m. until 4 a.m., not that unusual for the period.
 
From the outset, the ballroom was very successful and was instantly famous throughout the country.
In July, 1949, the Keaveney Brothers applied for a licence to sell alcohol in the ballroom which
was denied due to the objections of local priest, Father Walsh.

We think that in late 1967, the Esker was renamed The Capitol Ballroom and would be advertised for several months before
reverting back to the Esker Ballroom in January, 1968.

By the end of 1969, the ballroom was "under new management" in the person of local businessman, Joe O'Neill. It would
continue to be run as the Esker until late 1970 when, on December 2nd, it was "re-opened" as the
"Sound of Music" by the Royal Showband. Holding 1500 patrons, it was updated with the latest comforts and was not
just a ballroom, but a "club" which was also a huge success for many years and drew crowds from all over
Connaught and indeed Ireland.

The ballroom remains standing today and for many years was used as a furniture store, but we think it is now just a storage facility.