Making the Burren a land of the 'living'

A Burren "interpretative centre" in the form of an information hub was launched last night in Ballyvaughan, Co Clare.

Over the past decade, proposed interpretative centres in the Burren have been synonymous with conflict involving protracted planning and legal battles.

However, promoters of Burrenbeo, or "the living Burren", have overcome obstacles by placing their "interpretative centre" online, and last night Burren stakeholders came to Ballyvaughan to laud the project.

According to Dr Brendan Dunford, Burrenbeo aims to become the one-stop information hub for the Burren region.

Author of the recently published Farming and the Burren and co-promoter of the online interpretative centre, Dr Dunford said the name Burrenbeo was chosen to reflect the life in the Burren, which is often mistakenly referred to as a "wilderness".

The chairman of the Burren IFA, Mr Michael Davoren, welcomed Burrenbeo.

"Farmers have been browbeaten for years that we have been the cause of all the Burren's ills. But Burrenbeo, through Brendan's research, has given pride back to farmers, showing that the Burren's heritage is being maintained through the work of farmers," he said.

A leading member of the Burren Action Group, Ms Lelia Doolan, also welcomed the initiative.

The group stopped Government plans to establish a visitor centre at Mullaghmore after a 10-year battle in 2000.

Ms Doolan said Burrenbeo succeeded in treating the Burren as a living place and not as a museum.

[ www.burrenbeo.com ]