Village row over plans for Blarney's 250th birthday
Objections have been raised to proposals to erect a statue of 16th century Blarney Castle owner Chieftain Cormac Teige McCarthy on a site overlooking the world-famous Cork village as part of Blarney Chamber’s work to mark the anniversary.
A petition with 100-plus signatures has been presented to Cork County Council objecting to the statue project, which was tentatively earmarked to be placed near the village’s Catholic church.
Chamber leaders have called for unity ahead of a briefing tomorrow night on its ambitious five-year ‘Blarney 250’ plan.
Damian Boylan, chairman of Blarney and District Chamber of Commerce, said he was disappointed there were already objections to the statue project — a key part of anniversary proposals. “We don’t want the 250th anniversary of the village to pass unnoticed,” he said.
“There is more to Blarney than the castle. Blarney has a lot of history and heritage and a lot more could be done to promote and highlight it. All of our efforts are purely altruistic. All we want to do is give back to Blarney.”
The 18th century industrialist James St John Jefferyes is widely credited with creating Blarney’s formal village structure in 1765.
Among the chamber’s anniversary plans are:
- Development of a heritage trail and interactive app;
- Creation of the Blarney Global Eloquence Awards and storytelling festival to be held around St Patrick’s Day;
- A long-term vision to secure the development of a village heritage centre.
Mr Boylan said the launch of the five-year plan was timely, coming days after Blarney failed to make Fáilte Ireland’s Tourism Town awards shortlist.
“I’m quite concerned that Blarney didn’t make the list,” said Mr Boylan. “It shows that you have to continually reinvent yourself and up your game to attract a new generation of tourists.”
