Senator seeks restoration of Yeats’ former home

SOUTH and East Galway is missing out on tens of thousands of tourists because of a lack of funds for the restoration of the iconic former home of poet WB Yeats at Thoor Ballylee.
Labour Senator Lorraine Higgins is the latest public representative to call on the Government to provide funding to restore the landmark building, which was damaged in recent years by flooding and has been closed to the public as a result.
Senator Higgins believes the famed tower, which Yeats purchased in 1917 and was used as a summer home by the poet and his family, is critical to the revival of the tourism sector in East Galway.
“East Galway needs to reclaim its strong association with one of the English language’s foremost and renowned poets by ensuring Thoor Ballylee is restored as a prime tourist attraction in the region,” said Senator Higgins.
Senator Higgins pointed out Thoor Ballylee is steeped in connections with Yeats and should be just as important a tourist landmark as his grave in Drumcliffe in County Sligo.
“Over 100,000 tourists visit the poet’s grave in Drumcliffe every year and there is no reason whatsoever that Thoor Ballylee cannot achieve similar status as a ‘must see’ tourist destination,” said Senator Higgins.
“However, Thoor Ballylee has been extensively damaged by flooding, particularly in 2009. The River Coole, which runs beside the tower, is prone to flooding and overflows onto the road and this has added to the difficulties from a tourist attraction point of view,” the senator continued.
With this in mind, Senator Higgins said she has contacted the Minister responsible for the OPW, Brian Hayes to see if public funding can be made available.
“I think it’s essential that every effort is now made to assist Fáilte Ireland, who are in charge of Thoor Ballylee, to carry out the essential remedial works that are required to restore and re-open the tower in time for next year’s tourist season.
“While I appreciate the difficulties there are in restoring a protected structure such as Thoor Ballylee, it simply cannot be left closed for the foreseeable future, as has been suggested by Fáilte Ireland.
“I also strongly believe the area should develop further the Yeats connection to East Galway and I will be sitting down with interested bodies and individuals in the coming weeks to chart best how this can be achieved,” she added.
“Indeed, an independent survey conducted in the late ’90s in relation to Drumcliffe indicated visitors, both sightseers and culturalists, would spend more time in the area if more facilities were available to them. I would like to see something similar happen with Thoor Ballylee,” Senator Higgins concluded.