This article is from page 20 of the 2011-09-20 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 20 JPG
FÁILTE Ireland and the Office of Public Works (OPW) are to meet in the coming weeks to discuss the possibility of reopening the Gort family home of WB Yeats as a tourist attraction.
The tower at Thoor Ballylee, just outside of Gort, was purchased by Yeats as his family home in 1917. It was used as a summer home by Yeats during his frequent visits to Gort, where he spent much of his time at the residence of Lady Gregory at nearby Coole Park.
The old tower has been closed to the public for some time and has been damaged by flooding activity over the last number of years.
Local senator Lorraine Higgins (LAB) has begun a campaign to secure enough government funding to reopen the tower as a tourist attraction. Higgins hopes that the combination of a renovated Thoor Ballylee alongside Coole Park will be enough to win literary tourists away from Yeats’ childhood home in Sligo and down to the Burren region.
“We need to reclaim our strong association with one of the English language’s foremost and renowned poets by ensuring Thoor Ballylee is restored as a prime tourist attraction in the region,” she said.
“Thoor Ballylee is steeped in connections with Yeats and should be just as important a tourist landmark as his grave in Drumcliffe in County Sligo. More than 100,000 tourists visit the poet’s grave in Drumcliffe every year and there is no reason whatsoever why Thoor Ballylee cannot achieve similar status as a must- see tourist destination.
“Thoor Ballylee has been extensively damaged by flooding, particularly in 2009. The River Coole which runs beside the tower is prone to flooding and overflows onto the road, and this has added to the difficulties from a tourist attraction point of view.
“I think it’s essential that every effort is now made to assist Fáilte Ireland, who are in charge of Thoor Ballylee, to carry out the essential remedial works that are required to restore and re-open the tower in time for next year’s tourist season.”