Public meeting on NAMA’s planned sale of Westport House

Neill O'Neill

A public meeting will take place in Westport next Tuesday to discuss the fate of Westport House, its importance to the region and the planned sale of the estate by NAMA.
As revealed in last week’s Mayo News in a far reaching interview with Sheelyn Browne, whose family have owned the Westport House estate for almost four centuries, a bank loan taken almost a decade ago to keep what is one of the west’s major tourist attractions open and plan for its future has been placed in NAMA, who are now selling this debt as part of its ‘Project Arrow’ Portfolio.
The news came as a shock to many in Westport and Mayo, particularly as it coincided with the publication of a new economic impact report, commissioned by Mayo County Council, which revealed the value of Westport House to the regional economy is in excess of €50 million annually.
With an uncertain future now looming, and any number of possibilities being a likely  potential outcome for the iconic property, from remaining open as it currently is to becoming a private residence with the estate completely closed, a public meeting is being organised to gauge the sentiment of the community and perhaps make a call to action. This will take place in the new Town Hall Theatre next Tuesday, October 20, at 7.30pm.
Local politicians and community groups are being asked to attend, along with business people and anybody who has an opinion or concern in relation to this matter. It has been reported that it is within the remit of the Government or Mayo County Council to invoke a clause in the NAMA Act which might just give Westport House a lifeline, but nobody in either the local authority or Government will be drawn on any aspect of the discussion relating to Westport House at the minute. It is hoped that talks are ongoing behind the scenes on the subject, but others close to the matter have stated that the process may be too far along now to be interfered with. They have questioned why something was not done sooner.

Action
Westport County Councillor Brendan Mulroy contacted The Mayo News in recent days to place on the record his support for any campaign to save Westport House and estate. He has called on the Government to involve itself and save ‘a national treasure for the people of Ireland.’ His Fianna FΡil party colleague, Deputy Dara Calleary TD, raised the development in the DΡil last week, and was met with an acknowledgement of the matter by An Taoiseach Enda Kenny, who said he was aware of the issue.
Independent Westport-based County Councillor, Christy Hyland, has called for politics to be left aside in this debate and stated that this is a complex and delicate matter and that he would be discussing it in detail in Mayo County Council forums, where he hopes to get a clearer picture on what is happening.
Meanwhile, Mayo County Council’s Strategic Policy Committee on Enterprise and Investment has convened a special meeting to discuss the issues in relation to Westport House this Wednesday in Castlebar. Ironically, the group’s next scheduled meeting was due to take place in Westport House in November.
The public meeting in Westport will take place in the auditorium in the Town Hall Theatre at 7.30pm on Tuesday, October 20. All welcome.