Bunratty and King John’s castles face closure, operator says

Bunratty Castle and Folk Park in Co Clare and King John’s Castle in Limerick will close in less than two weeks unless the Government provides €6.4 million in emergency funding, the operator of the amenities has said.

The Shannon Group, which includes Shannon Airport and commercial properties including heritage and tourism sites, has said it needs an “urgent” answer to its request for the sum.

Unless the group received support, it said, both castles and Bunratty Folk Park would close on August 31st.

The State-owned group made a submission to the Department of Transport in July seeking assistance in securing the viability of the sites until June 2021.

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The Covid-19 pandemic has led to major revenue losses at both sites, which are hugely dependant on American and continental European tourists. US and continental tourists account for 80 per cent of visitors in a normal year.

Challenging times

Chief executive Mary Considine said “both sites are very important to the local economy and to tourism in the region, and Shannon Group is doing everything it can to keep the two heritage sites open”.

She said Shannon Heritage, which runs both sites, will require total funding of €6.4 million to June 2021, “when a pick-up in visitor numbers usually occurs”.

Ms Considine paid tribute to Shannon Heritage employees, whom she said had faced very challenging times. However, she said a major marketing campaign and a slight bounce in domestic visitors had not made up for the loss of international customers.

“Our focus now is on protecting our employees’ jobs in the long-term, which requires difficult short-term decision so that we can survive, recover and rebuild.”

No immediate comment was forthcoming from the Department of Tourism.