POSITIVE progress is being made on the development potential of Scattery Island as a tourism destination.
The Office of Public Works has appointed conservation architects to prepare a Conservation and Management Plan, which will see Scattery Island as the first off-land destination point on the Wild Atlantic Way.
Councillor Gabriel Keating said, “It is great to see Clare County Council, the Office of Public Works and the local community working together to deliver on the undoubted potential that there is.”
He said the appointment of the conservation architects, combined with the upgrading of the exhibition in the Scattery Island Visitor Centre and the proposed enhancement of ferry services to the island, offer the prospect of Scattery further developing into a key and unique part of the Wild Atlantic Way.
“I know also that the council is looking at a Rural Economic Development Zone (REDZ) project for the island, which will further develop heritage tourism in the wider Kilrush area. The project will also look at the prospect of improved landing facilities on the island.”
Separately, the council has been discussing with the OPW a design for improved Scattery Island signage on the main access roads in the area.
“I must pay tribute to the local community, who have done trojan work in pursuing the Scattery Island story and who have been working voluntarily to enhance the island by completing the first phase of the shrub clearance of the Napoleonic Battery site,” he added.
The Fine Gael councillor acknowledged the roles played by former Ministers of State for the OPW, Brian Hayes MEP and Simon Harris, current Minister for Health, whose visits were pivotal to the progress now being made.
“I am confident that the proposals now at various stages of progress can only enhance the tourism product in the area and bring additional visitors to the West Clare area,” concluded Councillor Keating.
A native of Ennis, Colin McGann has been editor of The Clare Champion since August 2020. Former editor of The Clare People, he is a journalism and communications graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology.