The Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, Ms de Valera, expressed disappointment yesterday at the Bord Pleanala decision to uphold Clare County Council's refusal of planning permission for the development of visitor facilities at Mullaghmore.
Speaking in Tullamore, Co Offaly, where she officially opened the Tullamore Dew Heritage Centre, the Minister said she would be in contact with Clare County Council. "I will be making the approach to see how best we can proceed with accessing a site that will be appropriate to have as an interpretative centre," she said. "I think it is important that that kind of interpretation is there for the Burren."
Ms de Valera said that when she became Minister she had offered to make £500,000 available to both Kilfenora and Corofin to enable plans to be drawn up for heritage facilities in that area. "I wanted to ensure that these plans were coming from a community rather than being imposed by me or my Department," she said.
"The particular offer that I made to Kilfenora and Corofin still stands. I would be hopeful that those centres would be seen in conjunction with the proposal for the gateway at Mullaghmore, but that decision did not come through with An Bord Pleanala, and that is why I am contacting Clare County Council to look for other aspects and other sites.
"I believe that the national park must be made accessible to people not only in physical terms but also by way of interpretation."
Speaking earlier at the opening of the Tullamore Dew Heritage Centre, the Minister paid tribute to the co-operation between the various bodies in Tullamore which had led to the creation of the centre. The £1.2 million development is a partnership between Cantrell & Cochrane, the owners of the Tullamore Dew and Irish Mist brands; Bord Failte; Tullamore Urban District Council; Offaly County Council; Offaly Historical and Archaeological Society; the County Enterprise Board and the Offaly LEADER 11 programme.
The centre, located in the former bonded warehouse at Bury Quay, contains a museum, coffee shop, bar, tourist office and conference rooms. It also houses the Offaly Archaeology and Historical Society.
During her visit to the centre the Minister met members of Tullamore UDC and Offaly County Council. The councils are awaiting a decision from her on the future of the old reformatory at Daingean, which is currently used by the National Museum to house artefacts.