Public meeting to discuss future plans for Doneraile Park
A SENIOR official will outline plans for the future of Doneraile Park, its stately house and historic gardens during a public meeting taking place next Thursday evening (April 4).
Members of the public have issued with an open invitation to attend the meeting, which will get underway at to the meeting, which will take place at 7pm in the Doneraile Community Hall.
It will be addressed by Mary Heffernan, the principle officer with OPW responsible for the development of Doneraile Park.
She will outline how the body intends to manage the development of the of the Park, Doneraile Court and its world renowned gardens over the coming years.
Of key interest will be plans for Doneraile Court, which was allocated €1.6 million in 2017 for a plan of restoration works at the stately building, with the first tranche of €900,000 released last September.
Since then the OPW, in conjunction with the Doneraile Development Association (DDA) has been working on restoring the ground floor reception rooms of the house, which is due to open to the public in June.
DDA secretary Michael O’Sullivan said it was hoped that the first floor of the building would be open at some point in the near future.
He said that Ms Heffernan will outline plans for the first floor, which will include restoring bedrooms and a dining room to their original Georgian condition.
The floor will also include two rooms to house an exhibition of memorabilia relating to the celebrated Irish novelist and short story writer Elizabeth Bowen and her links to the North Cork region.
Ms Heffernan will also outline proposals to restore the world famous 18th and 19th century gardens in the Park and the spectacular 17th century garden on the northern side of Doneraile Court, which is the only one of its kind still surviving in Ireland and the UK.
Mr O’Sullivan said the entire project would cost in the region of €5 million to completed and would be undertaken on a phased basis over a three to five year period subject to funding allocation.
He said these were “very exciting” times for the Park, which has seen visitor numbers increase from 50,000 each year to more than half-a-million over the past five years – with that figure set to top the one million mark within the next five-years.
“We have seen the Park grow and develop and become a key engine for the development of Doneraile and its hinterland,” said Mr O’Sullivan.
“Next Thursday’s meeting will show how that development will proceed over the coming years and also demonstrate the significant role the Park will play for business development within the Doneraile area,” he added.