The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
KING John’s Castle has been transferred to Limerick City and County Council, and while the transfer of Shannon Heritage assets to Clare County Council is taking longer, it is still very likely to go ahead in the near future.
Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council PJ Ryan said that talks on the transfer are still continuing and going quite well.
“It’s ongoing at the minute, my understanding is that the Department is negotiating with the Council at the moment, and that there are positive negotiations regarding the first three years after Clare County Council taking over from Shannon Heritage.”
He said that the take over in Clare is far more complex than Limerick City and County Council taking over the running of King John’s Castle, which it actually owned already, but did not operate.
“King John’s Castle is a different situation, there’s only one entity there, there’s only a handful of staff. In Clare you’d be talking about four different units and 150 staff, so there’s no real comparison. ”
He said the idea of the local authorities taking on the Shannon Heritage sites came from Government in the first place.
“All the vibes that we are getting as public representatives is that everything is going in a positive way. Realistically, it was a Government initiative to request Clare County Council to take over the Shannon Heritage sites. They have to work through the bits and pieces now to get it done.”
He added, “The funding has to come from the Department of Finance and that has to be okayed by the Taoiseach. I had a motion at the March meeting requesting a meeting between the Council Chief Executive and the Taoiseach, that didn’t take place but the Department have been positive.”
Councillor Ryan also said that the current issues at Dublin Airport show that Irish passenger traffic needs to be more evenly distributed.
“Dublin has become a victim of its own success. There’s no way that Dublin can handle upwards of 30 million passengers, it needs to be spread out across the country.
“If you took 10% of the traffic in Dublin and it went to Shannon and Cork it’d be a massive boost to the west and south of the country. Dublin as a city and an airport can’t handle those kind of numbers and will never be able to handle them.”
In a statement this week Shannon Group CEO Mary Considine welcomed the fact that the transfer of King John’s Castle had gone through.
“Mary Considine, CEO, Shannon Group said: “I would like to wish Limerick City & County Council every success as they take on King John’s Castle, and in particular to thank them for working very closely with us to ensure a seamless transfer.
“The support of the Departments of Transport, Housing, Local Government & Heritage, along with the Department of Public Expenditure & Reform, and our close collaboration with the Council ensured a smooth transition for our staff at King John’s Castle, for which we are most grateful.
“The transfer will enable Shannon Group to concentrate our energies on restoring passenger numbers at Shannon Airport, thereby supporting local economic activity and attracting tourists.
“This, combined with expanding our property portfolio will enable further foreign and indigenous investment in the region. Shannon Group will maintain an important relationship with the visitor attraction by rebuilding vital air services at Shannon to support the return of much needed international tourists to Ireland.
“I would like to thank the staff at King John’s Castle for their tremendous work over the years and wish them every success, in what I am confident will be the start of an exciting new chapter for them.”
There were 14 staff at King John’s Castle, and all of them have transferred with no change to their terms and conditions of employment.
Mayor of Limerick Daniel Butler said, ““This is a wonderful start to a new era for King John’s Castle. I’d like to acknowledge and thank Shannon Heritage for their stewardship of King John’s Castle for the past 30 years. With the Castle back under Limerick control, we are the masters of our own destiny. We have a wonderful attraction here that we all need to support and showcase in whatever way we can.
“And I would encourage all Limerick people to come and visit King Johns’ Castle over the coming months. Great attractions on our doorstep are for locals as well as tourists.”
Meanwhile, this weekend will see 37 members of the New Jersey American Irish State Legislatures Caucus visit Clare. They will be brought to the Cliffs of Moher, Shannon Airport and Bunratty Castle on their visit here.
Owen Ryan
Owen Ryan has been a journalist with the Clare Champion since 2007, having previously worked for a number of other regional titles in Limerick, Galway and Cork.
