By Justin Kelly
Minister of State with special responsibility for the Office
of Public Works, Simon Harris, has extended an initiative that means admission
to all OPW sites will continue to be free on the first Wednesday of each month
for 2015. Clonmacnoise is Offaly’s only OPW heritage site, and Laois/Offaly TD
for Fine Gael Marcella Corcoran Kennedy has encouraged culture seekers to avail of this concession in Co.Offaly.
“Giving free access on these days to locals, schools, and
tourists alike, means this wonderfully historic area is available for all to appreciate,
enjoy and learn about,” the Offaly native remarked. The initiative was first
introduced in 2011, and Minister Harris explained that it “is aimed at
encouraging visitors to take advantage of all the wonderful heritage sites
around the country.” Over 70,000 visitors from home and abroad availed of the
waiver in 2014, and the Minister hopes “the offer will continue to stimulate
the growing interest in the nation's rich cultural heritage.”
Marcella Corcoran Kennedy, who grew up in the area near
Clonmacnoise, recalled her fondest childhood memories of the site for InOffaly
this week: “I have wonderful memories of playing around the tombstones and high
crosses as a child before a visitor centre was ever built. I remember doing
pencil rubbings of the beautiful patterns on the high crosses and trying to read
the names on the headstones,” she said. “I’ll never forget running around the
round tower until I was dizzy, and then racing my brothers to the top of the hill
to Clonmacnoise Castle. Reaching the top, we would be gasping for breath,
gazing at the magnificent Shannon River, dreaming of swimming across it,” she
added.
The Offaly TD described Clonmacnoise as “a special place,” recalling
how she learned more and more about the history of the area as she grew older,
and thus “really came to appreciate this jewel that remains on the banks of the
Shannon.”
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