County's top attraction set to lose its tourist office

Proposals to close the tourist office at the Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre at Donore by the end of the year have been described as a major blow to tourism interests around the county. Tourist and business interests in Slane, Kells and Trim have all expressed concern at the closure, pointing out that, with over 200,000 visitors a year to Brú na Bóinne every year, it was an ideal place to showcase Meath's many other attractions to tourists. The closure is expected to see four permanent tourist office staff at the World Heritage Site redeployed to other locations. The move is due to take place at the end of the year. The closure is part of a move by Fáilte Ireland to close its retail outlets. A spokesperson for the Office of Public Works (OPW), which runs the Brú na Bóinne centre, said it would be drafting an invitation to tender for the provision of a bookshop in the vacated space and that the issue of providing tourist-related information at Brú na Bóinne was under discussion. President of Trim Chamber of Commerce, Noel French, said the tourist office at Brú na Bóinne was vital for pointing visitors toward Trim, which is also part of the Boyne Valley. "Newgrange is the biggest tourist attraction in the country and having a tourist office there was an opportunity to put Trim before all those tourists," he said. The chairman of Kells Tourism Forum, Aidan Wall, said the tourist office at Brú nas Bóinne had the potential to spread visitors around the county and its closure would be big loss. "It is an important piece of tourism infrstructure, which is being taken away," he remarked this week. Kells Chamber of Commerce spokesperson Jess Olohan said that people who looked for information at the tourist office at Brú na Bóinne would have found information on Kells and attractions throughout Meath. Cllr Wayne Harding, Slane, described the decision as extraordinary. "We have Fáilte Ireland saying how important the Boyne Valley is to tourism in Ireland, yet they close the office in Brú na Bóinne. It is a contradiction," he said. He added that the village of Slane had suffered since the opening of the centre on the other side of the river, but the tourist office there had pointed visitors to places like the Ledwidge Museum, Slane Castle and the Battle of the Boyne site. Deputy Dominic Hannigan said the decision needed re-thinking. "This is difficult news both for the staff and for local tourism businesses, many of whom have benefited greatly from the services provided by Failte Ireland at Newgrange," he said. "Brú na Bóinne is one of Ireland's top 10 tourist attractions and it brought over 223,000 visitors to Meath last year. Many of these people can be encouraged to visit other places in the Boyne Valley, such as Oldbridge House and the Battle of the Boyne site, if they are given information," he said.