WITH the Gathering already attracting its share of international attention, Limerick is being positioned to benefit from the expected growth in heritage tourism through the development of an international centre for ancestry and genealogy. The city is in the running for a multi-million euro project being by developed by Failte Ireland who have invited bids to win a contract for a Diaspora resource centre which would include a museum on emigration from the country.
Closing date for receipt of bids is this Friday and the successful application will be announced by the end of the month with construction work getting under way early in the New Year.
The Limerick bid was prepared by a local group under the leadership of the joint local authority’s head of economic planning Tom Enright and Shannon Development’s Limerick Division Manager Eoghan Prendergast who have met with Tourism Minister Leo Varadkar to discuss the city’s submission.
They were told that the centre must serve not only as a focus for those with an interest in the Diaspora, but also serve as an attraction contributing to the further development of tourism.
Committee member and local Fine Gael TD Kieran O’Donnell said he was pleased at the pace of progress to date and that the Diaspora centre would be an ideal “legacy project” for the county.
He said that the city’s bid for the centre should be central to its involvement in the Gathering initiative.
“It would reflect the pioneering spirit that served the region so well in the early days of Shannon, which had a pivotal relationship with the Diaspora over the decades. It is a major national and international designation, and once the consultants are appointed, it will take some time for them and the government to consider the project fully”, he said.
