Durrow meeting with Minister in pipeline

Minister of State for the Office of Public Works (OPW) Brian Hayes has indicated to local councillor Tommy McKeigue that he will meet with relevant local parties regarding the completion of works at Durrow Abbey, the Offaly Independent can reveal. Cllr McKeigue said he spoke "casually" to the Junior Minister about the issue at Fine Gael's Presidential selection convention last Saturday. Minister Hayes indicated he would meet with relevant parties, but asked Cllr McKeigue to "make it official". Cllr McKeigue has a motion asking Offaly County Council to meet with the appropriate Minister to advance the Durrow High Cross Project on the agenda of the council's next monthly meeting, scheduled for next Monday afternoon. Five years ago under the stewardship of Tom Parlon the OPW was given planning permission to restore Durrow Abbey's gate lodge, add visitor facilities, a car park and a new exit to the N52. Planning permission expires on August 9 next, and though the abbey has been given a new roof, the Durrow Cross moved inside and pews restored, the lodge has still not been restored, toilets added or a car park and new entrance constructed. Safety works on the N52, which were a condition of planning permission, have also not been carried out, and local access to the site is restricted. "There's no access, and that's the crux of the matter," Cllr McKeigue said this week. "I'm not too worried about the house, but we need to get the well and high cross open to the public." "I was talking to the new Minister Brian Hayes about it casually. He said that if Offaly Co Co made it offical he'd meet with us." The Durrow Abbey project was also supported indirectly by two letters written to the Irish Times newspaper recently, suggesting that an "Irish Camino" following the Esker Riada (which passes through Durrow) be developed with EU funding as a pilgrimage route with tourist potential. Writer and director Ruth Meehan made a six part documentary on the route called An tSlí Mór that was aired on TG4 between 2003 and 2006. She said the route, and indeed Durrow Abbey, is "absolutely worth investing in". "It's a beautiful idea," she said. "The Midlands of Ireland are sometimes overlooked. I was quite surprised by this quiet path across Ireland that was the original way."