This article is from page 21 of the 2012-10-02 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 21 JPG
THE daughter of controversial revolutionary figure Che Guevara was in West Clare this weekend to attend the Che do Bheatha festival in Kilkee and pay a visit to the Loop Head Lighthouse.
Aleida Guevara March, a doctor based in Havana, was one of the guests of honour at the three-day long Che do Bheatha festival which was held to mark the 51st anniversary of Che Guevara’s visit to Kilkee in September of 1961.
Celebrations to mark Guevara’s connections to Clare and Galway have come in for heavy criticism in America – where he is seen as a murderous dictator by some high profile politicians.
Dr March was also one of the final guests to visit the 19th century Loophead Lighthouse before it was closed for the winter. Figures released today show that 17,423 people visited the lighthouse during the opening period up to Sunday, September 30.
Preliminary estimates indicate that 71 per cent of the total visitor figure was represented by domestic visitors, of which approximately 50 per cent were holidaymakers and 35 per cent were day trippers, with local visitors accounting for the remainder. Overseas visitors accounted for 29 per cent of the total figure.
It is estimated that the 18-week opening period was worth approximately € 650,000 to the local economy.
“It was an honour to have accompanied Dr Guevara and the Cuban ambassador, Teresita Trujillo, on their visit to the lighthouse which they both enjoyed immensely. Dr Guevara was very impressed with the new ex- hibition and particularly enjoyed the tour of the tower and the superb views from the top,” said Cillian Murphy, Chairman of Loop Head Tourism.
“The closure of the lighthouse brings to an end another great season which saw huge benefits to the local tourism operators. The figures reflect a high concentration of family business and this is the marketplace Loop Head Tourism is keen to be targeting and produce growth in the industry into the future. This in turn will make the whole community on the peninsula more sustainable in the long term. Once again, this project shows the benefits of local community and statutory agencies working in partnership.”
Ruairi Deane of Shannon Development said that Loophead Lighthouse was an effort to establish an anchor visitor attraction in West Clare with strong overseas appeal.
“Loop Head Lighthouse is now a wonderful success story that highlights what true partnership between state agencies and community bodies can achieve,” he said.