Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am glad that the topic of tourism is regularly raised in this House and I am sure the Leader will respond accordingly. I congratulate the owners of Lissadell House in County Sligo, Edward Walsh and Constance Cassidy, who earlier this week announced that they were opening their entire demesne. The impressive restoration of Lissadell House is a joy to behold and I encourage anybody visiting the north west to visit it. They are throwing it open to the public for walking and cycling and they are going to provide extra activities along the beach, which is a beautiful part of the north west.

In the background of this decision are years of litigation between Sligo County Council and the Walsh-Cassidy family but despite that the family still has the appetite and enthusiasm to put their patriotic duty before their personal preferences. They bought the estate from the Gore-Booths at a time when the State would not buy it. The price was very substantial and they spent all their own money restoring the building to its former glory. Lissadell House looms large in the poetic activities of Senator W. B. Yeats whose wonderful poem pays tribute to the two Gore-Booth sisters, one of whom - I think it was Constance, who later became Constance Markiewicz - he referred to as a gazelle. In that context it is relevant to have a debate on tourism on a regular basis because of its importance to the economy and I commend the calls of other speakers on the Leader in this regard. The fact that Lissadell House is going to be opened to the public will give a huge boost to tourism in the north west.