Plan to revive tourist trade at Limerick's KIng John's Castle
PLANS are currently being made to revive the tourist trade at King John's Castle and the surrounding Castle Lane area.
Limerick City councillor Michael Hourigan says he has been promised by Eoghan Prendergast of Shannon Development that plans will begin "in the immediate future."
"We need to create something in the area that attracts people. Castle Lane is laying idle. Shannon Development has promised to help attract business back to the area and make it a place where people will want to come and visit.
"There are artefacts in storage in various museums that could be loaned out to the castle. Whatever is happening out there at the moment isn't working," said Cllr. Hourigan.
"We would like to expand the museum, build a cafe and a restaurant in Castle Lane. They should be privately owned, a mix of public and private enterprise in the area will be the key to success. The more attractions the better," he added.
A team consisting of Limerick City council members, Shannon Development and the Business Association has been set up to help breathe life back into the area and make it a profitable tourist attraction.
Cllr Hourigan sees the area as one with "untapped potential". Plans include changing the entrance of the castle, music sessions and a footpath trail for tourists, connecting up Limerick City attractions such as the Treaty Stone, Hunt Museum, Georgian Limerick and other local attractions.
An Australian reviewer, who recently visited the castle, left the following review on the popular travel website www.tripadvisor.com.
He wrote: "I left wishing I had never considered it an option.The exhibition is dated and uninteresting.The rooms you can go into contain bizarrely dwarf-like mannaquins that greet you with equally bizarre audio rants. As other reviews have noted, the most important bit is the houses that they discovered. However, as they built the visitor centre before this discovery, access is beneath the toilets and flushing water flows overhead."
"The castle hasn't been updated in 15 years. Of course the technology is outdated and unimpressive," added Cllr Hourigan in response to the review. He went on to urge local people to visit the castle. "School trips should be organised to visit the area. Many children from Limerick haven't even visited the castle."
Twenty years ago, Shannon Development built an interpretative centre in the castle grounds.
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Tuesday 22 May 2012
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