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Tag Archives: bunratty

Shannon Heritage transfer completed

GIVEN how long the deal took to arrange, it was rather apt that the final signing of the contracts for the Shannon Heritage tourism assets was delayed by some hours this morning, before the legalities were concluded. A number of members of Clare County Council along with members of the Oireachtas were at Bunratty before 11am this morning for the transfer, but it was early afternoon before the documents were finally signed. With the transfer complete Bunratty Castle & Folk Park, Craggaunowen Bronze Age Park, Knappogue Castle & Gardens, and the retail unit at the Cliffs of Moher Experience will now be managed, developed and promoted by Clare County Council as part of its existing portfolio of signature visitor attractions and sites, namely the Cliffs of Moher Experience, Loop Head Lighthouse, Vandeleur Walled Gardens, and the Inis Cealtra Visitor Experience. The existing Shannon Heritage DAC, including 90 permanent staff, has also been transferred as a subsidiary company of Clare County …

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Daisy and St Patrick

I’m a big fan of St Patrick. Anyone who gets rid of those nasty snakes is alright by me. I really wanted to celebrate St Patrick’s Day in style this year so I got onto my favourite couturiers, AG Dog Fashion and had them send me a lovely dress for the occasion. As a special surprise, they included a second dress so I was really well set up for the celebrations. But where to go? Of course there was only one destination – Bunratty Castle and Folk Park, where they were putting on a special Shamrocks and Shenanigans event. Being photographed is hungry work so I made sure to build up my strength by insisting on a visit to my favourite eatery, The Buttery in Limerick, before we headed back to Bunratty. And what a time I had in Bunratty. I met all my friends, including St Patrick himself so I’d be safe from snakes. I also met the Seanachaí, …

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Decision expected on Shannon Heritage sites transfer

AN assurance has been given that jobs at Shannon Heritage sites in Clare are secure, as the transfer to the local authority is expected to be approved shortly by government.  Leonard Cleary, Director of Services for Tourism, said the authority expects sign-off very soon for the transfer of the sites to Clare County Council. “We would like it to happen, with government approval, before summer,” Mr Cleary told a meeting of the Council’s Rural Development committee.  Efforts to transfer the sites from the Shannon Airport Group met an impasse at the end of last year, when the government offered a fraction of the €15 million funding package sought by Clare County Council. Since then, a range of options has been explored and meetings have continued into this week in an effort to resolve the issue and protect amenities and jobs at sites including Bunratty Castle, Craggaunowen and Knappogue Castle. Addressing a rural committee meeting in Ennis on Tuesday (February 21), …

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Positive results for Clare tourism in travel awards

ALONGSIDE the Cliffs of Moher being named the country’s best visitor attraction in the Irish Independent Reader Travel Awards, there was further good news for Clare. Bunratty Castle and Folk Park was also in the top ten, while Hotel Woodstock was ninth in the best hotels category. Sean Lally of Hotel Woodstock said that he was thrilled to be included. “Head over heels! We’re the only Clare hotel listed in it and since we got it over the weekend the phones have been ringing off the hook in terms of bookings and enquiries and website bookings are well up on what they normally would be for this time of year. “It’s a busy time for web bookings anyway, but they’re well ahead and you can see the spike in terms of traffic to our website. It has really been exceptional. We didn’t see this coming!” He feels that the use of social media, which the hotel has become famous for, …

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No progress on Shannon Heritage Clare tourism assets transfer

DESPITE much speculation that there could be progress on the transfer of Shannon Heritage to Clare County Council pre-Christmas, it hasn’t happened as mid-January approaches. Clare TD Joe Carey this week said that no progress has been made as of yet. “It’s still where it was, they are trying to come up with a package to get it over the line with the Council,” . The lead department is the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, which is under the stewardship of Darragh O’Brien. It does involve other departments too, but that’s the main one. There have been efforts to get this over the line, but they have been unsuccessful.” He called for a new impetus to resolve the matter. “I have spoken to all the stakeholders in this repeatedly and we need a resolution for the tourism offering in the county. With the New Year I think there should be a new concentration of minds to get this …

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Shannon Heritage staff: ‘It’s disappointing to be treated so badly’

TEMPERATURES weren’t very far above freezing on Friday, but a number of Shannon Heritage workers still assembled outside Bunratty, looking to vent frustration over the uncertainty around Shannon Heritage’s future. The delays around the transfer are widely seen as farcical and workers outside what was once one of the country’s top tourist attractions brandished signs indicating their disillusionment. ‘Political ping pong’, ‘Master Plan to Master Sham’ and ‘Staff in the dark’ a sample of them read. “We’re gutted at this stage, it’s going on for over a year and a half at this stage,” said Caroline O’Sullivan, one of the protesting employees. “We were told in February of last year it’d be taken over in June. In June we were told Christmas, and here we are another year down the road and we still don’t know. It’s very uncertain for people with mortgages, children going to school or college. It’s a tough time,” she added. Workers are very disappointed with …

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Council says it can’t go ahead with Shannon Heritage takeover

FRUSTRATED at not being given the funding guarantees it says it needs, Clare County Council has released a statement today saying ” it cannot proceed with the proposed takeover of the Clare assets of Shannon Heritage at this time without real and meaningful support from Government.” As recently as yesterday Clare TD Cathal Crowe told workers that he hoped an agreement on the transfer might be completed by Christmas, and the Council statement today, while ostensibly ruling out the transfer at the moment, also says the local authority “remains open to further engagement on the future management and development of Shannon Heritage assets in County Clare.” Clare County Council has been looking for funding of around €15 million to take over Bunratty Castle & Folk Park, Craggaunowen Bronze Age Park, Knappogue Castle & Walled Garden, and the Cliffs of Moher Experience retail unit. In today’s statement, the Council said, “In the comprehensive independent Due Diligence report submitted to government, Clare …

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Bunratty staff to be retained in January, despite partial closure

BUNRATTY Castle and Folk Park will be closed to the public four days a week, from mid January to early March. Despite the closure, all of the staff will be retained on their current terms. Speaking to the Clare Champion this week, one worker said, “The Group made an announcement to us recently. The doors will be closing Monday to Wednesday inclusive, but all staff are being retained and fully paid, we’ll just be closed to the public on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. The staff will probably be doing other work in their own area, preparatory work, something like that.” In recent years the attraction had closed completely in the early part of the year, so the worker said the announcement is good news. “Of course people are happy to be retained but it is confusing as to why we are closing for the three days. We can’t see where the saving is, it doesn’t seem to make a lot …

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