This article is from page 30 of the 2008-03-25 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 30 JPG
THE public is being invited to enjoy the historical and natural beauty of Gort’s Coole Park, tea rooms and visitors’ centre which reopened last weekend. Following a very success- ful winter and spring programme of events, the Coole Park Visitor Centre reopens to the public on Easter Sat- urday and will remain open through- out the summer.
The centre will be open daily from 10am to 5pm until the end of May, and then from 10am to 6pm. As a special treat for literary and his- tory buffs, there will be no entry fee
this year to the centre’s audiovisual presentation of the life of Lady Gre- gory and the exhibition “Coole Park through the eyes of Me and Nu’.
Me and Nu were pet-names of Lady Gregory’s granddaughters who spent much of their childhood in Coole Park and witnessed the passing of some of the leading artistic and po- litical figures of Ireland history in the early 20th century.
Coole Park is managed by the Na- tional Parks and Wildlife Service of the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government. Be- sides being a literary and historical pilgrimage, it is also a nature reserve,
includes six kilometres of trails tak- ing in woods, river, turlough, lime- stone and Coole Lake.
The Seven Woods and wild swans, which were celebrated in verse by WB Yeats, are part of its unique en- vironment. Depending on the season you may see red squirrels, stoats, bluebells and violets, butterflies and dragonflies, woodland or wetland birds.
Coole Park was once the home of Lady Gregory, dramatist, folklorist and co-founder of the Abbey Thea- tre with William Butler Yeats. In the early 20th century, it was at the heart of the Irish Literary Revival.
Yeats, Shaw, Synge and O’Casey all came to experience Coole’s magic. They and many others carved their initials on the Autograph Tree, an old copper beech still standing today.
Although the house no longer re- mains, you can still appreciate the beautiful surroundings that drew so many to Gort. It is possible to expe- rience the magic and serenity of the landscape that inspired the poets and artists of Ireland’s last literary gold- ae rnes
For more information, contact Hilda Mac Lochlainn, supervisor guide at Coole Park on 091-631804 or info@coolepark