Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is interesting that both Senator Higgins and I tabled this matter at the same time. To give the background for tabling it, I was contacted by Ronnie O'Gorman, who is chairman of The Friends of Coole. The Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Deenihan, was in Galway a number of months ago regarding the film school and the Solas Picture Palace. On that occasion, Ronnie O'Gorman met me and the Minister and impressed upon us the importance of reopening Thoor Ballylee. There is a local group with multiple stakeholders, whose names I will give to the Minister of State, and it intends to reopen Thoor Ballylee, W. B. Yeats's holiday home.

I thank the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Leo Varadkar, for his interest and guidance on this project so far. I have been working with him. Interestingly, there is another example of a local group taking over a similar project in Dublin, the James Joyce Tower in Sandycove. It was formerly owned by Dublin Tourism and will be handed over to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council this autumn. We are working on replicating that model. We are seeking the continued support of the Minister, Deputy Varadkar, and cross-departmental support from the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Deenihan, until Thoor Ballylee is reopened with a solid programme. The aim of the group is that it would be a cultural centre offering educational programmes.

As Senator Higgins said, following the flooding in 2009 everything was extensively damaged. Wide-ranging discussions with local people from the Gort area, academics, members of the local authorities and local tourism interests have already taken place. There is a keen enthusiasm for the Yeats Tower to be opened once again to the public, students of all ages and visiting scholars. The University of Limerick, UL, and National University of Ireland, Galway, NUIG, are working closely with the group. In bringing Thoor Ballylee back on stream we are pulling back the curtain on one of the most significant cultural landscapes in Europe. W. B. Yeats was a great friend of Lady Gregory and her home was down the road in Coole Park. The spirit of volunteerism is alive and well in terms of getting this project back on stream. The Minister, Deputy Varadkar, has said we should use the model used with the James Joyce Tower and there is a willingness to do that.

Our request is that Thoor Ballylee be opened for six weeks of this summer and, next year, it should be open from early spring to late autumn. There is room for a modest cafe. The people who have an active interest in this include Professor Margaret Harper of UL, who would like the Thoor Ballylee to be available for visits by international Yeats societies. There is massive tourism potential in this case. In addition, students of Irish studies at both UL and NUIG would have access. As it is such a perfect complement to Coole Park it could become a major focus for foreign students at both UL and NUIG. The educational programming that could surround this is obvious. There could also be creative writing workshops. More than 5,000 children and adults attended events in the past, which shows the interest in this area.

The following people from the south Galway area are actively involved: Michael O'Grady, whom the Minister of State might know; Colm Farrell, a local businessman; John Quinn, broadcaster and writer; Sr. Mary de Lourdes Fahy, historian, and other academics.