A former 850-seat theatre in Clonmel, Co Tipperary, is now a furniture showroom after the failure of a campaign to save it as a performance venue.
The owner of the Regal Theatre, Mr Larry O'Keeffe, said he had abandoned plans to develop the building and was still prepared to sell it.
However, a group set up last February to try to keep the venue open said it had done all it could. "We put a very strong, concerted campaign together to save the theatre for the people of Clonmel and south Tipperary, and there really is nothing more we can do," said a spokeswoman, Ms Aisling Kilroy.
Negotiations between the group, Save Our Regal Theatre, and Mr O'Keeffe broke down in May. The seating was recently removed and disposed of, and the building is now being used for Mr O'Keeffe's furniture business.
He said yesterday, however, that this was a temporary measure while another building he owned, across the road from the Regal, was being renovated.
"We're still open to negotiating a sale. It's up to the people of Clonmel," he said. However, he couldn't see much hope for the venue unless the purchase was handled by Clonmel Corporation, which had already rejected the possibility of taking it over.
The Arts Council said it was regrettable it could be lost at a time when many towns were attempting to establish one.
