Sinn Féin initiates major tourism project
A major tourism project which could provide a new boost to the local
economy in County Monaghan has been launched in Ballybay. The bold
proposal is for the restoration of the old tannery in Ballybay as an
industrial tourism project which would aim to create a working model
of the tannery with a visitors' centre attracting tourists from far
and wide. An agri-machinery exhibition is also included in the
proposal.
The project was launched by Cavan/Monaghan Sinn Féin TD Caoimhghín O
Caoláin, who said it would provide a badly needed indoor tourist
attraction for the County. The TD, in conjunction with Sinn Féin
Town Commissioner in Ballybay, Gene Duffy, hit on the idea after a
visit to the old tannery building just outside the town on the
Carrickmacross Road. In the scene of dereliction the seed of this
concept was planted and it was quickly realised that such a project
would be of significant benefit not only to the town of Ballybay but
to the whole of County Monaghan, adding a very special element to the
tourism network of the border counties.
The tannery at Ballybay was once an important employer in the town,
as indeed were hundreds of such small tanneries throughout the
country at one time. It has lain dormant for many years, its
potential, until now, unrealised.
The site consists of a large derelict factory with much of the
original leather-tanning machinery still in place. The spacious main
building and outhouses, though in need of extensive repair and
renovation, could provide a sound basis for a working model tannery
and visitors' centre. Exhibition space, craft shops, small retail
outlets and other services also form part of the concept. The
proposed Ballybay tourism project could accommodate a significant
agri-machinery exhibition as another attraction.
There is a growing interest in Irish industrial history and this area
of tourism and education has been developed in the Six Counties but
as yet no such facility exists in County Monaghan, nor indeed to any
great extent south of the border. Caoimhghín O Caoláin commissioned
consultants to prepare a concept paper on his idea. The report has
now been published and is presented by the TD to the community in
Ballybay as a contribution to their work for the development of the
town and as a potential major project with benefits in employment and
other economic spin-offs for the whole of County Monaghan.
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