The Model Arts Centre in Sligo is already having almost £3 million spent on it, and the chairman of its board, Mr Rory O'Connor, is anxious not to appear ungrateful in looking for more money.
But he has appealed to the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands for another £250,000 to finish restoring the fabric of the building.
The money allocated so far, from the Government, the county council, the Arts Council and the International Fund for Ireland, is going towards the refurbishment of an important historic building in Sligo. This will make it one of the foremost arts centres in the State, housing the Jack Yeats collection built up by the local library. But there is very little money for the heritage aspect of the building, notably its fabric.
The Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands gave £150,000 towards this work, but that will cover only about a third of it, according to Mr O'Connor.
"It is a heritage building on a par with the town hall and the courthouse, -which are having millions spent on them. "They are all built of Mount Charles stone, a local stone from Donegal that does not weather well. It should be done while the scaffolding is up. That alone costs £20,000. We should use it.
"The arts centre is now due to open in September or October of this year. If we do not get it done it's a lost opportunity. It's a shame if it looks shabby on the outside.
"This should come from heritage funding rather than arts funding. It looks like we got lots of money, but it was not for the building.
"So much State funding is going into what will be the biggest arts centre outside Dublin. But at the moment it can't be done in its entirety. Why not go that extra bit?"
So far he has not had a reply from the Department.