An East Galway TD is calling on the Office of Public Works (OPW ) to floodlight sites in east Galway such as Portumna Castle.
Minister Ciaran Cannon has said that apart from better promoting the structures for visitors, the move would ensure the buildings could be included in the Global Greening initiative.
Minister Cannon said; “Constituents of mine in Portumna have remarked to me how walking to the marina from the entrance to the precincts of Portumna Castle recently, they noticed the silhouette of the castle and what a difference it might make for potential visitors if the building was floodlit at night. There is certainly something in that as the marina sees full bays throughout the visitor season and floodlighting the castle may entice further visitors in.
“I think there is also potential, by putting lighting infrastructure in place, to extend the Global Greening initiative to heritage structures in rural regions. Last year, we saw a number of new sites across the globe join other landmarks in ‘going green’ for St Patrick’s Day and while these include renowned places such as the Eiffel Tower and the Sydney Opera House, let us not forget that sites like Portumna Castle are among our own region’s iconic landmarks.”
Minister Cannon added; “This is something worth working towards as with the correct lighting units in place, it’s simply a case of putting a green lens cover on the lighting unit.
