A restored cottage in south Tipperary is set to be the model for a new type of accommodation likely to appeal to environmentally-aware tourists. The first EcoBooley self-catering cottage, on a farm in Ronga, two miles from Clogheen, will be open to the public for viewing this weekend.
EcoBooley is the brand name of a scheme which, if the first venture proves successful, could see countless abandoned homesteads throughout Ireland restored in an "eco-friendly" manner. Booleys were the temporary upland summer milking places of old Ireland.
The man behind the project, Mr Terry Cunningham, is a rural enterprise adviser with Teagasc in south Tipperary. He secured Bord Failte funding under an EU-backed pilot scheme to find ways in which Ireland could develop its tourism without causing further damage to the environment, which attracts visitors in the first place.
The cottage at Ronga, owned by Mr Eamon Looby, was restored using only eco-friendly technologies. Special features include a water-driven electric turbine, lime/hemp wall insulation, wool roof insulation and a composting lavatory.
The building, in which four people can sleep, will be advertised in Bord Failte's self-catering accommodation guide next year. If the project proves viable, Mr Cunningham hopes it will take off in other areas which could tap into the growing ecofriendly tourism market.
Open days when the builder who restored the cottage, Mr Garry Gleeson, will be present, will be on Friday, from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., and on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The cottage is west of Clogheen, about half a mile off the Clogheen-Ballyporeen road. There is also a website for the project: www.ecobooley.com