Addition of Shannon Heritage staff to Clare County Council reignites the potential to bring the Spa Wells in Lisdoonvarna into the ownership of the local authority, elected representatives have said.
Work is underway for three tourism sites and the retail outlet at the Cliffs of Moher to transfer from the ownership of Shannon Heritage to Clare County Council.
Last October, Cllr Joe Garrihy (FG) appealed to the Council to take Lisdoonvarna Spa Wells under its umbrella.
However, Director of Service, Leonard Cleary at the time flagged feasibility studies by Lisdoonvarna Failte CLG and the Rooska & SPA Wells Trust which indicated a multi-million euro investment is required. He admitted that an insufficient staff capacity would prevent the Council’s rural development directorate and West Clare Municipal District from taking the project on, he admitted.
Given the addition of staff from Shannon Heritage to the local authority, Cllr Garrihy told the July meeting of the Council that the scenario had now changed. “It is an opportunity to look at community and private assets in the county which are critical parts of our attraction,” the Lisdoonvarna man said. He paid tribute to Council Chief Executive, Pat Dowling for visiting the eighty acre site.
Potential for wellness tourism could be exploited by acquiring the Spa Wells, Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG) maintained. He noted that when Killarney became a tourist hotspot because of a visit from Queen Victoria, “Lisdoonvarna was already a Victorian hotspot because of the waters there”.
He described the Clare Tourism Strategy as “an extraordinary piece of policy making” and referenced its mention to wellness. “With 120 staff coming on board from Shannon Heritage with extraordinary expertise in tourism, we should be looking at taking over the Spa Wells to drive wellness in the county. This merger makes it ideal to take on the Spa Wells”.
