Thoor Ballylee grounds upkeep programme

TWO workers from Tús, the community work placement scheme, are to start work on the grounds of Thoor Ballylee, the former home of famed Irish poet and writer, WB Yeats, it was confirmed this week.

Following a meeting with Tús representatives, Senator Lorraine Higgins said two people are available to start working in Thoor Ballylee.

“They will carry out general maintenance and tidy up of the area around the tower, the picnic area and will also concentrating on the area around the toilets and down to the mill,” said Senator Higgins.

She also said the tower at Thoor Ballylee is in good shape and is now totally dry inside after recent years of flooding had made conditions in the area very difficult.

“The heating is set to come on each day, and this has made a huge difference,” added Senator Higgins.

She said access to the tower cannot be granted to the general public yet but the Tús announcement has brought the project another important step closer to fruition.

Senator Higgins believes the famed tower, which Yeats purchased in 1917 and was used as a summer home by the poet and his family, has a critical part to play in the revival of Galway tourism.

The senator previously pointed out that Thoor Ballylee is steeped in connections with Yeats and should be a tourist landmark of equal significance to the poet’s grave at Drumcliffe in County Sligo.