Why is Mary Robinson library still stalled four years on?

It is four years since plans were announced to turn Mary Robinson’s old family home in Ballina, Co Mayo into a presidential library to accommodate her vast archive and promote her legacy as well as being a visitor attraction.

The impetus came from the people of the town, according to the chief executive of Mayo County Council, Peter Hynes.

The proposed location was Victoria House, Mrs Robinson’s original family home. A bronze plaque outside the imposing three-storey period house overlooking the river Moy marks it as her birthplace in 1944.

NUI Galway has been enthusiastic about the proposal, agreeing to set up a mini-campus at the centre to allow access her archive.

Mrs Robinson has agreed in principle to donate her archive to the county council.

Áras candle

Since first being elected as a senator in 1969 at 25 to her present role as the UN secretary-general’s special representative on climate change, she has accumulated a large body of material. These include letters, postcards, emails, legal text books, honorary doctorates, personal diaries, periodicals, outfits and even the famous candle from the Áras window.

There are letters from the Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela, Tony Blair and other world figures. One box holds her correspondence with Charles Haughey.

Mrs Robinson had envisaged leaving her papers to the State, but when approached by the county council she thought it “much more personal and enjoyable” to keep them closer to home.

In 2012, the archive was valued by Mealy’s auctioneers at €2.5 million. Under Section 1003 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, Mrs Robinson is entitled to 80 per cent tax relief on the donation . This amounts to a possible tax credit of €2 million.

The €2.5 million figure, however, is an undervaluation, according to Susan Heffernan, the library’s project manager. She said: “The Robinson family have accepted the lower figure of €2.5 million for tax purposes as the archive is a gift to Mayo County Council and the people of Ireland.”

Deadline extended

In February 2015 it was anticipated the archive would be transferred and the house bought by the summer of last year. The timetable later slipped to January 2016 and it has since been extended again to 2018. To date, however, neither have taken place.

Victoria House is owned by Mrs Robinson’s brother Adrian Bourke and accommodates his legal firm. Mayo County Council has committed €1.5 million to cover the purchase of the house and the land around, plus design fees.

It is believed Victoria House would cost €665,000, based on a NUI Galway valuation, but Mr Bourke and the council have yet to agree a price. The total cost of the project will be €8.35m.

The State is contributing through the archive donation tax credit, the €1.5m contribution from Mayo County Council and a further €2m from the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.

In addition a further €1m has been raised privately, partly at dinners in the US hosted by Mrs Robinson.

Talks about the sale of the house are “at an advanced stage”, says Ms Heffernan, But Cllr Jarlath Munnelly, a longtime sceptic, says it is time to take a hard-nosed look at the project, especially since the council’s annual deficit rose last year from €1.9 million to €5 million.

“I have concerns about the exposure of Mayo County Council. I don’t want people in 20 years’ time stopping me on the street and asking me, ‘why didn’t you ask questions about this?’”