What to do with Loughcrew...‘It's a great pity to see the historical site lying in disrepair’

There are very little facilities at the Loughcrew site, other than a car park and a guides hut but further down the hill is the Loughcrew Megalithic Centre, a tourism business operated by the Shortt family who have lived at the foot of the hill for hundreds of years.

Niall and Sarah Shortt run the Loughcrew Megalithic Centre and say "it is a great pity to see the historical site lying in disrepair".

"In 2015, we opened a tourism business to provide facilities for the increasing number of domestic and overseas visitors. Our business started with a simple idea of showcasing an original thatched cottage from the 1700s, a coffee shop, car parking and much needed free toilet facilities at an important heritage site. We then expanded into providing tours of the Loughcrew cairns and opened up accommodation in the form of a camping and glamping site," explained Niall and Sarah.

"It is a great pity to see such a historical site lying in disrepair. Unfortunately Cairn T was closed a number of years ago. It was meant to be for two weeks for conservation work but it was decided it would be closed for the foreseeable due to health and safety concerns.

However, since its closure there has been no conservation work carried out. We were led to believe by the OPW that the cairn was in desperate need of repair, so much so that it warranted an immediate closure. If this was the case, it is truly shocking that no work has been carried out in order to repair and maintain Cairn T. These cairns are over 5,000 years old, they are of monumental importance to our heritage and culture.

"It is a huge disappointment for both domestic and overseas visitors when they find out it is not possible to get inside Cairn T. As business owners in the area we are constantly working to drive tourism towards Loughcrew and the surrounding locality.

“From an economic point of view the continued closure of Cairn T may very well have a negative impact on tourism businesses like our own in towns such as Oldcastle and Kells as well as decreasing the value of our county’s tourism attractiveness. If the site continues to be in disrepair this will no doubt put off potential tour companies and visitors coming to the area.

"Visitors from all over the world have been coming to us here at the Loughcrew Megalithic Centre since we opened our doors. They comment on Loughcrew being the most historical, energetic and important site on the Irish landscape. Hopefully the Government Depts in charge of maintaining this site will also recognise the importance of these sacred structures in Loughcrew and allocate whatever funding programme is required to have our heritage protected for future generations.

“We would be delighted to assist in any way possible for the preservation of Cairn T in Loughcrew. It is engrained in our DNA and of our family for thousands of years.

"At the end of the day, the OPW are the governing body in charge of protecting and maintaining our heritage sites, including Loughcrew. If there is an issue with Cairn T the OPW must take action to fix it and re-open it. If there is no real issue regarding the structure of Cairn T, which very well could be the case, then we see no reason why Cairn T is not re-opened to the public."

However, Sarah said they absolutely agree that the maintenance and protection of the site is the most important element in all of this and if that means Cairn T needs to remain closed a while longer then so be it, adding that a "conservation plan and works must begin as soon as possible in order to maintain and protect these ancient and sacred monuments.”