Minister visits Longford tourist attraction

The attractions of the Knights and Conquest Interpretative Centre were on full display recently as the Granard interpretive centre welcomed a visit from Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Peter Burke.

The Longford-Westmeath Fine Gael TD was shown around the centre and afterwards met with the committee.
The heritage centre opened in 2018 and has gone from strength to strength. It chronicles Ireland’s Norman past, which began in the 12th century and also recounts the history of the Granard area up until Kitty Kiernan in the 1920’s.
The heritage centre promises to be the place “where history comes to life.”

Welcoming Minister Burke to the Heritage Centre Fr Simon Cadam who said: “Thanks for the work you have done in bringing about this centre. It has been a huge undertaking by the committee who have put in endless hours to bring about this centre.”
“The local community has invested so much in this project in the past 10 years,” he added.

Fr Cadam expressed the apologies of Senator Micheal Carrigy, who was unable to attend on the day.
Minister Burke addressed the gathering saying: “I met with the committee seven years ago to discuss the project. People from the local community have worked so hard to bring this centre about.”

“It has cost over €4 million so far. Anything that we can do to help we will do,” he added.
The minister was then taken on a tour of the centre by manager Deirdre Orme. Ms Orme outlined the popularity of the centre, particularly for school tours.
She added that another feature has been the twinning of Granard with East Rouen in France. A group from Granard will travel over to France in September.

Fr Cadam told the Minister: “This is 15 acres of land acquired by the community. Granard Motte, which is also promoted by the Heritage Centre, and the lands around it were also acquired by the community (a total of 11 acres).”
The interactive tour showed the impact that the Normans had on Ireland since their arrival. The dress, battles and main players of that era are all brought to life.
Life for ordinary people in that era is also documented. A chart shows all of the surnames in Ireland that have Norman origins.
The final part of the tour is called ‘Kitty’s Parlour’, which is a room dedicated to the relationship between Michael Collins and Granard girl Kitty Kiernan.

It includes pictures from that era and ‘Kitty’s ghost’ where you stand by a mirror and an actor playing Kitty gives some background to her story and the history of the time.

One of the pictures is particularly fascinating. It was taken at General Sean McEoin’s wedding. Collins was a guest, but his head is down in the picture.
This was a deliberate policy, as he was the most wanted man in Ireland at the time, following a speech he gave outside Legga church.
The centre is open seven days a week.