Center Parcs: Longford takes pole position on tourism grid

In the latest Lonely Planet guidebook for Ireland, Co Longford merits eight paragraphs in a 750-page book.

Longford, it states, is a “quiet place of low hills and pastoral scenes. It has few tourist sights” though the guide does praise the angling.

Some might have been tempted to dismiss the news that planning permission was being sought for €100 million Center Parcs, one of the largest private tourism investments in the history of the State, as an April Fool’s joke.

But it is no joke for those within the county’s tourism industry who have worked hard to change perceptions and knew in advance this announcement was coming.

Longford’s position in the centre of the country means it was often a county where tourists passed through on the way to somewhere else.

The proposed park outside Ballymahon is just 20km from Athlone, the geographical heart of the country. Its very centrality, and its unspoilt woodland, have contributed to Longford pulling off a stunning tourism coup.

National park

Cllr

Michael Carrigy

, the chair of the county’s tourism committee, said they have been developing plans for the Royal Canal and a national park in the reclaimed boglands.

“In a couple of years, we want people not to say, ‘Where’s Longford?’ but ‘When are we going to Longford?’.

“For too long Longford people have talked negative about their own county,” he said. “We need to talk ourselves up. We have something that is unique.

“Longford would have been at the bottom a few years back. We took it by the scruff of the neck. We’re working to drive our product be it walking, cycling and other outdoor activities.”

The official announcement will be made in Ballymahon this morning. The county has been especially hard hit by the recession, with a large number of ghost estates and an absence of large industry.

‘Unfair perceptions’

Local businessman and former chairman of Ballymahon Chamber of Commerce Ciaran O’Hanlon said the county suffered from “unfair perceptions” that it did not have a tourism industry.

Ballymahon has one of the best canoe clubs in the country and has long been a haven for fishing and boating, he said.

Jackie White of the Ballymahon Traders Association said they have known since last week an announcement was coming and would react when they knew more detail. But "exciting times" lay ahead for the whole area, she said.