Seanad debates

Thursday, 10 May 2012

Architectural Heritage

 

6:00 am

Photo of Martin ConwayMartin Conway (Fine Gael)

Go raibh maith agat. I tabled this Adjournment matter because the county archivist in Clare has done enormous work in collaborating and putting together a series of archives that have significant historical value that should be open to public. We also have a situation in north Clare where the only workhouse that dates back to the Famine that still stands and is available is an OPW storage facility in the Corofin area. That facility is not being used for historical purposes. Cataloguing has taken place over the past number of years of the archival information. A well-grounded suggestion has been made that both should be married. The archives should be stored in the Corofin workhouse and made available to the public, thus ensuring that the archives are readily accessible to people. It would also act as an interesting tourist attraction in north Clare. Visitors to that part of the Clare tend to search for information about their relatives. There is a tracing service in Corofin that has been used by thousands of Americans and people in Australia and other countries seeking to trace their relatives here. People can contact the service and their family tree will be drawn up for a small fee. I propose that we give a much greater offering to that type of tourist in that part of Clare by the OPW providing the old workhouse to be used as an archival museum to gather and showcase the archives of County Clare. I hope that the Minister of State will give me some good news from the Minister responsible for this area.

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