'This is amazing for West Limerick': Foynes museum celebrates birthday windfall

An aerial view of the Foynes Flying Boat and Maritime Museum

placeholder image — An aerial view of the Foynes Flying Boat and Maritime Museum

“IT’S the best birthday present ever,” declared Margaret O’Shaughnessy, director of the Foynes Flying Boat and Maritime Museum this Tuesday lunchtime. “We are really going to have a 30th anniversary to remember this Sunday. This is amazing for Foynes and for West Limerick.”

Margaret’s comments came following the announcement that the museum is to get funding of €1.75m from the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, just days before the museum marks 30 years in business with a day-long party this Sunday. .

“This will help us fund the last piece in the jigsaw of the museum’s development, the brand-new Maureen O’Hara wing,” Margaret continued. That project will include a larger dedicated space to house the many gowns, garments and memorabilia, including the Oscar statuette, donated to the museum following Maureen O’Hara’s death, as well as a Quiet Man exhibition.

But the new wing, to the rear and side of the existing museum, will also house a large 120-seat cinema cum theatre as well as art space and a research cum archival centre.

The combination, Margaret believes will be a winning one, that will attract even more visitors to the museum which currently welcomes some 60,000 people a year through the doors.

The project is estimated to cost €2.4m to build and additional funds will have to be sourced to top up the €1.75m.

But, says Margaret: “We are ready to go. We have the land. We have the design and we have planning permission and we have seven tenders in. We expect to be announcing the successful tenderer next week.”

Limerick TD and Minster of State Patrick O’Donovan has welcomed the funding allocation, which comes under Project 2040. “It shows the Government’s ongoing commitment to preserving and promoting our heritage while supporting Limerick’s tourism industry,” he said.

“The Flying Boat and Maritime Museum, along with the many other aspects of Foynes including its shops and the port, have become a huge attraction to visitors traveling the Wild Atlantic Way. It has also become a necessary stop off on the Shannon Estuary Way for day trippers and international visitors alike.”