Clare County Council are planning to open the new interpretative centre for Holy Island in Mountshannon in the first quarter of 2025.
The local authority is working closely with utilities to put in place the necessary infrastructure to support the refurbishment of the old rectory.
Theresa Lannon Hughes of Clare Tourism outlined at a recent Killaloe Municipal District meeting the refurbishment of the old rectory is continuing with the objective of opening it as a visitor centre in the first quarter of next year.
It is expected plans for a Part Ten planning application will be completed for An Bord Pleanála in September , while a tender will be sought for the fit out of the interpretative centre in the coming weeks.
The public realm works in Mountshannon are due to start in the second week in June and will involve 75 metres sections to avoid as much disruption as possible. One side of the street in Mountshannon will be developed at the time as determined by the contractor. The tender process is underway, and the successful tender will be announced in the coming weeks.
Work is underway on an application for the registration of Mountshannon Harbour.
Ms Hughes stressed a lot of work is being done with underwater surveys to examine the best route out to Holy Island from Mountshannon Harbour and the key infrastructure that is needed to support this, taking into account a lot of areas of archaeological significance.
She said the results of these underwater surveys would form a crucial part of the planning application submitted to An Bord Pleanála. These surveys will also provide valuable information for the Environmental Impact Assessment Report.
“The landing point on the island has been agreed for archaeological and biodiversity reasons to be on the north west of the island, which is the old 19th-century landing point.
“Scrub clearance took place on the island last February. Because of the archaeological significance of the island, we had to be very careful.
“A barge was brought out to bring specialist equipment for the scrub clearance. This work took three days and was supervised by an archaeologist on site. The National Monuments Service also requested to observe the work that was carried out.”
Waterways Ireland are working on navigation routes to ensure nothing is being disturbed under the water with any new routes to the island.
All of these plans will be submitted to An Bord Pleanála during the first half of 2024. Head of Clare Tourism, Deirdre O’Shea described East Clare as a “hidden gem”, which has a lot of opportunities to attract tourists to several beauty spots.
Councillor Tony O’Brien (FF) praised Clare Tourism for the work staff have been completing promoting tourism throughout the county.
Describing the acquisition of Shannon Heritage sites as a “game changer” for tourism in the county, the he predicted the new Shannon River Crossing and Killaloe By-Pass would complement the Inis Cealtra development in Mountshannon.
“For a long time East Clare was a forgotten gem. When you speak about the Wild Atlantic Way I talk about Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands. We are on the same page now,” he said.
Overlooking Mountshannon Harbour and Lough Derg, the old rectory is an historic period house dating from 1905 and is set to repurposed and extended into a visitor and interpretative centre for Inis Cealtra.
Clare County Council has signed a contract with M. Fitzgibbon Contractors Ltd for the redevelopment of the visitor centre building, which, once completed will comprise of a revitalised exhibition area that interprets local stories and the island of Inis Cealtra, a reception area, an upstairs café and rectory garden.
The successful funding awarded for this project which includes the repurposing of the old rectory as well as waste-water optimisation works and public realm works at Mountshannon is €4,290,765 from the Department of Rural and Community Development as part of RRDF 1 Category funding, with an additional 20% match funding committed from Clare County Council. With important links to the last High King of Ireland Brian Boru, Inis Cealtra is one of the most important historical and ecclesiastical sites in Ireland with additional links to other religious sites and heritage attractions, such as Tuamgraney and Craggaunowen.
Still used as a burial ground, the ruins and buildings still standing on the island date back to the 7th century when the monastic site was established by St. Caimin.
Buildings on the island include a 24-metre-high Round Tower, as well as an oratory, and several churches and other buildings.
Having taken 41 acres on the island into public ownership in 2015, Clare County Council acquired the Old Rectory building in 2021.
The Local Authority has previously unveiled its plans to enhance access to and interpretation on the island, including upgrades to island and mainland access, the introduction of wayfinding infrastructure and the provision of public car parking facilities as well as future proofing an expanded visitor centre.
“Having acquired the Island in 2015 and working closely with the Office of Public Works, it has been a priority of the council to deliver and fast track a Visitor Centre, which can interpret the island and environs,” explained Pat Dowling, Chief Executive of Clare County Council.
“Government support from the Department of Rural and Community Development has enabled Clare County Council to proceed with this milestone tourism project for East Clare that will deliver significant benefits to Mountshannon and the wider economy and will add significantly to the county’s suite of tourism attractions.
“Clare County Council is proud of its track record of delivering infrastructure and initiatives that spread the economic benefit of the tourism economy to all parts of County Clare.
“The council’s ambition is to deliver an iconic visitor experience that raises the profile of the Lough Derg Region, which can sometimes be overlooked by visitors to Clare, due to the absence of a headline visitor attraction and introducing one of Ireland’s most important and historically significant ecclesiastical sites to a national and international audience.
East Clare correspondent, Dan Danaher is a journalism graduate of Rathmines and UL. He has won numerous awards for special investigations on health, justice, environment, and reports on news, agriculture, disability, mental health and community.