Green light given to 'ambitious' west Mayo Gráinne Uaile visitor centre

AN ambitious plan to renovate the 19th century Church of Ireland church in Louisburgh to incorporate a new visitor experience dedicated to the story of Clew Bay Pirate Queen Grace O'Malley has been given the green light by Mayo County Council.

The Louisburgh Development Company Limited submitted plans for the restoration and refurbishment of St Catherine's Church to accommodate the community library and archival material as well as demolish an existing Granuaile Centre to allow for the construction of a new 'architecturally ambitious' two-storey visitor experience building including exhibition, event and refreshment spaces.

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itor experience will also consist of the local Great Famine Story, the Louisburgh Story, the Louisburgh Climate Centre, Community Library and a Hub to provide space for community activities.

The proposed development has been driven by the Fáilte Ireland Clew Bay Destination and Experience Development Plan which calls for the development of 'tracks and trails' including an experience dedicated to the story of Grace O’Malley.

The Plan called for investment in the Louisburgh Centre to develop an all year allweather asset and in 2022 the Louisburgh Development Company received a grant from the Department of Rural and Community Development under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme to assist with the planning of the proposed project.

The Louisburgh Development Company commissioned Tandem Design to examine what the locality and wider region had to offer in addition to the Granuaile/Grace O’Malley story. Tandem produced an Interpretive Strategy for the centre based on a fresh look at the existing offering and all that the area has to offer. The strategy focused on the centre as a threshold experience providing a gateway to 'this special corner of West Mayo' and to position Louisburgh as an essential stop along the Wild Atlantic Way.

The existing extension to the church building was constructed in the 1990s and the decision was taken to demolish it and construct a new centre.

'Architecturally ambitious'

In the design statement for the 'architecturally ambitious' new centre prepared by Taylor McCarney Architects, the groundfloor footprint was described as taking inspiration from the orientation of navigation lines that would have been used at the time of Granuaile while the visitor journey will be orientated around this central semi-circular column, including a continuation of the staircase core onto roof level to capture higher views.

The layout has been 'carefully considered to bring the visitor on a journey through detailed design of interior spaces allowing them to pause and reflect' while interactive interventions will be included to 'enhance the experience throughout the building'.

St Catherine's Church located on Church Street dates back to 1828 and is a protected building as a result a comprehensive archaeological assessment report was prepared which outlined it is unlikely that the proposed development will have any significant extra visual impact on its setting.

There were no objections to the project from members of the public and Mayo County Council's senior archaeologist stated he had no objection to the proposed development subject to conditions.

As a result, Mayo County Council granted planning permission subject to eight planning conditions.