Tavern in Limerick village gets a new lease on life at the centre of revitalisation
OVER the past decade, the Kantoher Business Park has emerged, Phoenix-like, from the remains of the former Kantoher Poultry plant.
The establishment of the Kantoher Business Group was the crucial element in achieving this but providing the proper infrastructure was also a key factor.
Now the Business Park is on the cusp of even greater success with two new businesses in the pipeline. The KCS company, which supplies the restaurant trade, is building a new, cold storage facility at Kantoher and relocating from one of its sites in Dublin while negotiations are at an advanced stage with an agricultural business.
These would bring the total number of businesses in the park to nine, providing up to 150 jobs.
Meanwhile, the Village Inn in Ashford has been extensively refurbished by its new owner and the Ashford Tavern has been transformed into a Community Resource Centre.
The Tavern, for generations a Ballroom of Romance attracting all the big names of the showband era and a venue for the long-running Queen of the West contest, was bought by the community four years ago.
A parish needs survey had been done, Joe Kelleher, secretary of Kantoher Business Group explained, and this had identified a number of issues.
These included a youth space and a dedicated space to showcase the area’s long musical tradition.
These have now been incorporated into the transformed pub. The original Victorian house and bar have been preserved externally but internally have been transformed into a double-height Teach Cheoil.
A new extension houses a kitchen and cafe, aimed at locals as well as visiting walkers, while the former dancing area has been re-roofed and reconfigured for use as a youth club, as a community gym and also as a function room for events such as funeral afters.
The main building work is now complete but all the internal walls and floors have to be finished and fitting out the kitchen, cafe and bathrooms also remains to be done.
In addition, the plan is to create an attractive green public space, in the adjacent car park. This will be configured for cafe tables and an outdoor market as well as allowing parking spaces and planting.
The Tavern is part of a multi-million euro regeneration plan for Killeedy aimed at creating sustainable jobs and supporting community development and housing.