New operator for Clonmacnoise to be announced within weeks

Fáilte Ireland said this week the tender process to find a new operator for its retail and information service in Clonmacnoise is almost finalised. Communications Officer Laoise Bray said the organisation hopes to announce the successful tender in early March, though she could not say whether the new operator would be re-opening as usual in mid-March for the beginning of the season. Rumours that the service is to be taken over by the OPW, which operates the Clonmacnoise site, were neither confirmed nor denied. Fáilte Ireland announced its decision to pull out late last year and published a tender looking for a new operator for its service at Clonmacnoise. The service remains closed this week, in line with opening hours in the past that sees it shut down at the end of October and re-open in March. Last September Junior Minister Brian Hayes flagged the upcoming changes to the tourist office during a brief tour, indicating that the OPW would be interested in taking over the building to improve the overall visitor experience. Just this week Fine Gael's Marcella Corcoran Kennedy sought assurances from the same Junior Minister that the tourist office in Clonmacnoise will remain open for the foreseeable future. The service, she said, is a vital one for local and international visitors alike that's staffed by people who have an intimate knowledge of the tourism assets of the area. Her party colleague Cllr Connie Hanniffy also pushed for the retention of the service.