Michelle Mulherin (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to hear the progress that has been made. I like the description of it as a living document, because our culture is living. One issue that is of interest and that is very exciting for many of us in rural areas is our built cultural heritage, which we can still see much of. Moore Street and Dublin have been discussed, but there are many early Christian heritage buildings in Mayo. I would like the document to include cultural heritage hubs, in which we can look at our culture not only historically but in a contemporary fashion, perhaps through the arts. In Mayo, there is a tradition of French Mayo, which commemorates the 1798 landings. There is a lot of history around that. In my town, we are developing a Mary Robinson centre to look at contemporary issues worldwide. We also have the Jackie Clarke library, and I feel this would dovetail very well with Culture 2025. Strategic planning around the empowerment of cultural hubs should be part of the plan for supporting our culture in the future.

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