Fine Gael Deputy Ciaran Cannon has welcomed a commitment by Failte Ireland and the National Parks and Wildlife Service to make a major investment in upgrading the Coole Park Visitor Centre.
The investment will provide for the modernising of the visitor centre so that it can tell a compelling story of both the artistic and natural history of the South Galway site. This will include two new dedicated spaces within the centre, one to outline the powerful literary history of Coole Park, and another to showcase the natural beauty of the 1,000 acre Coole Park Nature Reserve.
“Both Failte Ireland and the NPWS have confirmed to me this week that they will shortly tender for the design phase of this fantastic project and that the design work for the reimagined centre will be completed by the end of this year. They will then move on to tendering for the construction phase in early 2022.
“This is most welcome news for all of us who use Coole Park frequently, and see the potential that it has to attract visitors from across the world. Having a new visitor centre to showcase both the literary and natural history of this truly unique place will be wonderful”, said Deputy Cannon.
Coole Park has long been associated with Ireland’s artistic history, in particular with the work of WB Yeats and Lady Gregory. It was the epicentre of Ireland’s Literary Revival and received many visits from Yeats, George Bernard Shaw, JM Synge and others.
The park is also one of Ireland’s most outstanding nature reserves covering an area of 1,000 acres. It is at the centre of a rare and complex wetland system that is considered to be of global importance.
“Coole Park has an incredible story to tell from so many different perspectives. This completely redesigned visitor centre will celebrate and tell that story in a modern setting using state of the art technology,” said Deputy Cannon.
“This investment is the right one to make in the future of tourism in South Galway and I look forward seeing the new centre opening in the shortest possible timeframe”, he concluded.
