Tag Archives: Knappogue

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), …

Clare Fianna Fáil TD for Clare Cathal Crowe is in talks with ministerial colleagues ahead of an expected decision on the immediate future of the Shannon Heritage sites. As things stand, sites including Bunratty Castle and King John’s Castle are due to close at the end of the month while the likes of Craggaunowen and Knappogue Castles have remained closed since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. “I’ve spent quite a considerable amount of time this week chatting to my colleagues, including ministers with a decision-making capacity on Shannon Heritage,” said Deputy Crowe. “Minister Michael McGrath has confirmed to me that the file has reached his department and it is now being examined, with a decision due in the coming days. “I have reiterated the importance of these sites to Clare to the Minister, particularly given the year we have been facing. “This morning, I held an impromptu meeting with Shannon Heritage workers following a separate meeting I was at …