Councillors blast castle proposal out of the water

Date Published: {J}

by Bernie Ní FhlathartaHistoric Menlo Castle on the outskirts of Galway city is going to be preserved as a ruin . . . putting an end to a proposal that it would be restored with the help of private funding.

City councillors agreed in a 14-1 vote to preserve it for now as it is as there is no funding for a restoration project.

There was criticism at the meeting of past negotiations between the Council and a private businessman, Noel Smyth, a Galway native who offered to fund the restoration of the Castle if he could have living quarters there.

Cllr Catherine Connolly said that the days of the squire were over as were the days when people had to tip their hats to the lord of the castle and she strongly objected to anyone having private access to what was a publicly owned building – the Council acquired the Castle and surrounding lands a number of years ago and though it has never been developed, some members of the public use the parkland for walks and for accessing the Corrib.

Cllr Pádraig Conneely, who has championed Mr Smyth’s case and hoped that Menlo Castle would be developed as a joint project between the Council and Mr Smyth, said something would have to be done with the Castle as he believed it was unsafe for public access in its ruined condition.

He said he supported the wording that was already proposed for the new Development Plan and that was that it would be restored as opposed to leaving it as a ruin and that all avenues of funding would be investigated so that it could be used as a cultural/recreational centre.

Cllr Conneely was the only councillor to vote against the submission to maintain it as a ruin saying it had huge tourist potential if it were restored to its former glory, which is currently estimated to cost €12million.

But Cllr Connolly said: “I would certainly object to top floor private accommodation or penthouses being provided in what is, and should remain, a public amenity. I wouldn’t want any restrictions on public access either and this would be the case if part of it was privately owned.”

For more on this story, see the Galway City Tribune