Locals voice support for Mullaghmore visitor centre

Without the development of an entry point in the Mullaghmore area in the Burren National Park, farming in the area would become impossible, forcing families to leave the land, a farmer, Mr Patrick Flanagan, told a Bord Pleanala hearing in Ennis yesterday.

Mr Flanagan said that for the conservation and protection of this sensitive area it was essential to have an entry point with clear directions for visitors.

He was speaking on the sixth day of the hearing on the appeal by the Minister for the Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, Ms de Valera, against the decision by Clare County Council to refuse planning permission for visitor facilities at Mullaghmore.

The hearing was told that Mr Flanagan's farm was less than one mile from Mullaghmore and he formerly owned a large portion of Mullaghmore mountain, selling it to Duchas, the Heritage Service, a number of years ago.

He told a board inspector, Mr Tom O'Connor: "All the objecters so far have spoken at length about flora, fauna, turloughs and pavements, but I have not heard one so far giving a sincere thought to the indigenous people of the area who have protected it for generations and will continue to do so."

In a further reference to the Burren Action Group's opposition to the plan, a second local landowner, Mrs Elizabeth O'Brien, asked the hearing: "Will the State be allowed to accommodate the citizens of this State in a National Park and give precedence to their rights over the rights of an elitist group in this country?"

In a submission from the chairman of the Burren National Park Support Association, Mr Seamus Kelly, the hearing was told the proposed entry point would focus access in the National Park where it could be best absorbed.

He said the proposed visitor facilities would blend in perfectly with the landscape. However, a rural development co-operative, Comhar Conradh na Boirne (CCB), expressed its opposition to the plan.

Its vice-chairman, Mr John Keane, told the hearing that CCB, a non-profit-making organisation, pioneered the concept of interpretative centres of a typical Burren landscape with the establishment of the Burren Centre in the nearby village of Kilfenora.

He told the hearing: "In marketing terms, the Burren Centre is clearly to be shown to be at a real and significant competitive disadvantage if the proposed plan for visitor access to the Burren is located at the proposed entry point to the Burren National Park at Mullaghmore."

The hearing concludes today. A decision on the appeal is expected before October 13th.