Terry Brennan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I raise the issue of King John's Castle in Carlingford. The castle was built in the 12th century on a rocky outcrop overlooking Carlingford Lough. It dominated the lough, the harbour and the developing town. It was the first stone building in Carlingford and, under its shadow, the town grew. It is said King John of England stayed there for a few days in 1210. The original castle consisted of an enclosed D-shaped courtyard with two rectangular towers at the entrance. The eastern part of the castle was built in 1261 and included a number of rooms and a great hall. In the 1950s the OPW undertook conservation works to stabilise the structure. There is an excellent view of the north pier and lough from the viewing area on the eastern side of the castle, although the castle is closed to the general public for health and safety reasons.

I would be most grateful if the Minister of State were to get this most advantageous project for Carlingford back on track. It is essential to the realisation of the enormous growth potential Carlingford offers as a heritage tourism destination. In addition, I stress the importance of having the castle and the whole area of north Louth included in the OPW visitor services map once the castle is reopened to the public. The most northerly town in the north east visible on the Heritage Ireland website is Ardee. Carlingford is 40 miles further north, but the map finishes at Ardee as far the OPW is concerned. We need to let interested people know that the castle is open with the free map given out by the OPW and to be found on the Heritage Ireland website.

Carlingford is one of the mediaeval walled towns of Ireland and contains three national monuments in State care - the Dominican Priory, the Mint and the great centrepiece, King John's Castle, in addition to sections of the old town walls which thankfully still remain from mediaeval times, the Thostal Gate and Taaffe's Castle. The Minister of State's predecessor, Mr. Brian Hayes, MEP, stated on a visit to Carlingford that "this town is rich in heritage indeed, particularly for a town of Carlingford's relative size and, taken together with the natural beauty of the area and the general tourism infrastructure, makes it an extremely attractive visitor destination."

I met officials of the National Monuments Service and the former Minister of State at the castle on 12 June 2012. Those at the meeting included the Louth heritage officer, members of the local historical society and the Carlingford Heritage Centre committee. During the visit the former Minister of State was very impressed by Carlingford and the commitment of the local parties - the heritage trust, Louth County Council and the Tidy Towns committee - and their deep interest in sharing its heritage with interested and discerning visitors. This was something the former Minister of State wished to encourage and foster. To this end, he asked the OPW to enter into a new initiative to develop links with local partners all around the country with a view to ensuring heritage sites were more fully presented to visitors and that visitor access was improved as much as possible using local volunteers. The Carlingford Heritage Trust has signed up to this initiative. During the former Minister of State's visit the group was shown the works that had been completed since the project at the castle started in 2009. The remaining works which are scheduled to be completed this year were also outlined. These works consist of a safety and site presentation and their full completion is key to further presentation of the site. They also required ministerial consent from the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht who has a supervisory role in this respect. This consent was given in June 2014.