Big on spectacle, empty on substance

Coláiste Íosagáin has been a crumbling eyesore for Údarás na Gaeltachta since it acquired the Ballyvourney site in 1998.

Successive pre-election promises to turn it into a national education and innovation centre have been big on spectacle but empty on substance.

However, one private sector company saw potential in the dilapidated former boarding school and was prepared to develop it into an up-market training facility. It wanted to invest €3.2m to transform the erstwhile De la Salle campus into a live-in education centre for international workers looking for vocational qualifications.