Heritage centre a present from man who never forgot his roots

A north Cork man who emigrated to Australia as a teenager never forgot his roots and is going to spend in the region of €500,000 providing his clan’s ancestral home with a state-of-the-art community centre.

John Paul McAuliffe made good down under, founding a building materials supply company, and he’s using some of the money he made to buy and renovate a former church.

The 74-year-old, who is Chieftain of the McAuliffe Clan, has purchased the former Church of Ireland building in Newmarket.