Athenry News & Views Winter 2025

Athenry News & Views

It’s an honour to contribute to this first edition of the newly re-established Athenry News & Views. Our community once again has a dedicated platform to share our own stories, celebrate local successes, and discuss the issues that shape the unique identity of Athenry. Well done to Sean, Jarlath and all the team and I wish you every success. Athenry is a wonderful community to be part of and to represent. We have a real sense of place and community, and it is the people of Athenry who make the town what it is. Of course there are many challenges within our community also – the housing crisis is having a devastating impact and services such as transport, childcare and more are at capacity or do not exist. But in this article I want to focus on one significant opportunity that we have in our town, and that is it’s tourism potential. As we all know, the likes of the Castle, Heritage Centre, Priory, Town Walls are really fantastic attractions, as well as the many great places to stay and eat throughout our town. But it is fair to say that we haven’t reached our full potential as a town with such great heritage and history. Some great work is being done to turn the tide on this. Galway County Council are progressing the Athenry Town Centre Plan, due to be launched in early 2026. This is a very exciting plan, with ten priority projects including a Heritage trail, enhancing heritage event spaces, a River Clarin walkway and much more which will enhance our towns offering for both visitors and locals alike. The ‘Athenry Experience’ group are involved in a number of exciting initiatives including the 1916 Exhibit in Athenry Castle and exciting plans to acquire the historic Murphy House on Clarke Street. A recent response to a parliamentary question I submitted stated that in the region of 15,000 people visit Athenry Castle each year, which paints an overall picture for the number of visitors coming to our town. Considering the number of visitors coming to the West of Ireland Seize the Opportunity

by Louis O’Hara T.D.

each year and nearby destinations such as Galway and Connemara there is significant room for improvement here. It will require more joined up thinking and people working together – a forum of local stakeholders to put together a plan and execute it, ensuring that we are putting forward the best Athenry has to offer. It also will require our tourism bodies and local authorities to recognise the enormous potential that Athenry has. For example, our key attractions in the town should all be open and accessible to the public all year round. With the right plan and the right promotion the possibilities are endless. There is a lot to be positive about in this space and I look forward to seeing the new improvements being rolled out. We must continue to build on this, seize this opportunity and realise our town’s full potential.