Masterplan to chart new future for Clonmacnoise site
A masterplan for the future of the Clonmacnoise heritage site is to be developed.
Minister of State for the Office of Public Works and Flood Relief, Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran announced the initiative on Friday last.
He said: “Clonmacnoise is a hugely important historical and archaeological complex and we have to make sure that it continues to be protected for future generations.
“The work we are planning will help to do that by analysing how we handle the large volume of visitors to the site and by making sure that we adopt the right approach to managing that volume in future in ways that puts the conservation and protection of the ecclesiastical site at the heart of improving the experience visitors have when they come to us”.
The OPW will shortly undertake the comprehensive new study at Clonmacnoise in partnership with Fáilte Ireland and the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.
The masterplan is likely to lead to short-term changes in the operation of the site and also provide a blueprint for future capital development work.
Clonmacnoise currently receives between 155,000 and 170,000 visitors per annum through a visitor centre that was designed in the early 1990s to ideally handle a load of approximately 80,000 annual visitors.
This can result in significant visitor congestion at peak times, imposing a strain on the site and the facilities there, including parking and toilets.
Minister Moran said: “We want to continue to ensure that a trip to Clonmacnoise remains a wonderful day out for visitors and that they have access to proper modern facilities that are fit for purpose in this important ancient site.
The OPW said that while the ancient fabric of the monuments themselves are not being affected, it has been quite clear for some time that the modern facilities within the visitor sentre building in particular are struggling to cope with the demand especially on busy days during the summer when visitor volumes are at their highest.
“We want to make sure it is well protected and guarded for the future and that the visitor experience is the best it can be, ensuring that the economic benefit that flows from it in terms of the tourists it brings to the area is not just maintained, but improved,” Boxer added.
The Minister said he is particularly committed to ensuring that the local tourism economy benefits from a new approach.
“I will be asking that the project examines closely the potential from other tourism projects nearby, including exploiting the local links that may be created for Clonmacnoise to Shannonbridge and also to Athlone on the Dublin/Galway Greenway.”
Fáílte Ireland is involved with this project as a strategic partner of the OPW and the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.
Orla Carroll, Director of Product Development at Fáilte Ireland said: “We are extremely pleased to be jointly funding and undertaking this masterplan study with our strategic partners the OPW and the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.
It’s expected the OPW will shortly go to tender for consultants to help develop a new masterplan for the very important monastic site.
This masterplan will address all aspects of the site, including its long-term conservation and how visitors can continue to access it sustainably.
The existing visitor arrangements are to be assessed with a view to improvements in car parking, toilets and cafe facilities.
The potential of new technologies such as online booking and ticketing is to be considered also. Potential improvements to the exhibition and interpretative centre are to explored, including how it can better cater for foreign language needs.