Naval tourism venture snubbed

RARE naval artifacts stored in Dublin for five years can’t be moved to Co Mayo because the Department of Arts and Tourism is refusing to foot the bill.

A priceless gift presented to the people of Foxford in Co Mayo by the Argentine navy has been locked away in Dublin docks since 1998. No one is willing to pay the €17,500 to move two containers of cannons, small firearms and other artifacts to Mayo.

The gift was donated in honour of Foxford-born Admiral William Brown, who established Argentina’s navy in the 1800s. The cannons will form the centre-piece of the Admiral Brown Memorial Park in Foxford, which will open next year.

But the Government is refusing to pay the bill despite a plea for help from Foxford. “The department has no part to play in this and that has been the position for the last number of years,” a spokeswoman for the Department of Tourism said yesterday. The artifacts will remain under “house arrest” in Dublin until the money is paid.

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny has urged Tourism Minister John O’Donoghue to resolve the problem. “I would have expected that at least Minister O’Donoghue would show some interest in lending his support to the building of a credible and extra tourism facility in this location,” he said.

“I wonder would the minister take such a flippant attitude if this situation applied in Kerry.”

The president of the Admiral Brown Society, JJ O’Hara, said the cannons and guns were rare historical artifacts. “All we have got over 10 years are promises, but not a penny of financial support. The department says it’s not interested in these guns, but some of them date from the 1800s and were recovered from the River Plate,” he said.

“This would only have cost €3,000 if we’d got financial support a few years ago,” he said.