What next?

What next for Céide Fields?

Anna-Marie Flynn

JUST one week before its fifteenth birthday, the Office of Public Works (OPW) has claimed Céide Fields is experiencing a near 50 per cent drop in visitor figures – a statistic rubbished by founder Dr Seamus Caulfield.
OPW representative John Corcoran told the Ballina Electoral Area Committee yesterday (Monday) that since its opening in 1993, fewer and fewer people are visiting the one-time north Mayo tourist magnet, with figures plummeting from 65,000 to just 30,000 annually.
“Céide was set up almost 15 years ago to great fanfare and lively interest and a lot of money was spent. It went on to win several awards around the world and now the building is still looking good, everything is working but the numbers visiting have dropped substantially. That means there must be something that is not working as we are not attracting enough people.”
The downward trend in visitor numbers has been blamed on the lack of accessibility of surrounding historical tombs in the greater north Mayo area.
“There are huge port tombs around Céide and people cannot go and see them like they can in other parts of the country. This is the bugbear that I have. It is such a great tragedy that these large visitor attractions cannot be accessed due to land difficulties. Tombs like Behy and Ballyglass are right beside it but you cannot get into them,” said Mr Corcoran.
Marketing was also cited as a stumbling block, however, he said there is nothing left in the way of resources to revitalise the facility.
“A sum of €3.5 million was spent on it and every year since then €250,000 is spent on keeping it up and running. The OPW feel they have spent enough money there and that the onus is now on local representatives to get more done. There is €2 million in the pot and 30 people have to be paid from that. What is left is whittled down to a maintenance budget.”
Cathaoirleach Seamus Weir refuted the claim that it was up to local representation and said the OPW were the only ones in a position to take responsibility. He described the news as ‘a wake-up call’ and reiterated the urgency of a solution on the matter.
The OPW’s presentation to the Area Committee meeting came as news to Céide founder Dr Seamus Caulfield. Speaking to The Mayo News, he said he was not aware of the meeting and would have welcomed an opportunity to be present.
He said the figure of 65,000 visitors a year only applied to the initial year of opening during what he called ‘the flamboyance’ of the launching process and said such a number was never expected in following years. “We expected 40,000 or so in following years and in the last few years it has been below that but I would not call that a catastrophic collapse.”
As regards the issue of megalithic tombs, Dr Caulfield said: “In my mind there is no issue with the tombs. There are several excellent tombs that visitors can be directed to and there is even one tomb within the Céide Fields that is owned by the OPW. In that sense, several tombs are immediately available.”
Finally, Dr Caulfield described the maintenance figure of €250,000 as ‘questionable’. He agreed that a lot of research has been carried out since the centre’s opening and that some aspects of the interpretive centre were ‘stale’ but said the OPW have responsibility in that regard. 

The fifteenth anniversary of the opening of Céide Fields will take place on May 28 next.

Future access to Killala tower

VISITORS to Killala will be pleased to learn that the round tower could become open to the public – if a comprehensive plan gets the go-ahead.
The Ballina Area Meeting heard yesterday (Monday) that access to the tower, which served as a huge obstacle to its development as a tourist amenity, may soon be cleared up.
Cllr Jarlath Munnelly said land acquisition plans are in the pipeline to solve the issue of ‘everyone’s garden backing onto the tower’.
Should the plans go ahead, a walkway to the top of the tower creating an unrivalled viewing point over Killala Bay, is envisaged.