Government Minister John Gormley has extended warm congratulations to the people of Ballycroy and surrounding areas for their co-operation in bringing the new visitor centre to completion.
Launching the new facility last week, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage, and Local Government remarked that County Mayo is renowned for its beautiful landscape, unspoilt countryside, and its welcoming people and Ballycroy’s setting is certainly quite breathtaking.
“This wonderful new centre will now attract people from far and wide to the park and to its surrounding area,” the Minister said. “It will afford the opportunity for visitors to experience nature in its purest form and to gain an understanding about the national park and all that it has to offer.”
Ballycroy National Park is the latest link in the necklace of six national parks that adorn Ireland. It consists of almost 12,000 hectares of some of the most important habitat in Europe. The Owenduff area in the Nephin Mountains is a wild and remote area of blanket bog with cliffs and river habitats containing many rare species of plants. The area is also important as a roosting, feeding, and breeding site for certain migratory bird species, including the white-fronted goose which comes all the way from Greenland.
The centre has been built at a cost of €3.9 million and forms part of the National Development Plan with support through the BMW Regional Assembly and the European Union.
The Minister extended sincere thanks to a number of parties for their involvement in the development, including the Ballycroy community for “its enthusiasm and the support of its working group”. He also commended the guide and education staff headed up by Mags Flaherty and team.
“They have been instrumental in reinforcing Ballycroy's position on the map and they have truly breathed life into the centre, not least through the very stimulating visits for the many school groups and younger age visitors,” Minister Gormley said.
The new visitor centre, designed and project managed by the Office of Public Works, has been built on the principles of sustainability and includes solar panels for heating domestic water. It is built into the hill for insulation and reducing energy needs, and is heated using ground source heat pumps. Additionally it includes recycled rainwater that is re-used on site in the toilet areas.
Ballycroy National Park and the new visitor centre in town is now open for business and members of the public are encouraged to take a trip to north Mayo to enjoy this new jewel in Mayo’s sparkling tourism crown.
