Friary development to bring jobs boost to Multy

A reported 41 jobs are to be brought to Multyfarnham when two support organisations move their respective national headquarters to the grounds of the Franciscan Abbey at Multyfarnham.Meanwhile, Westmeath GAA is this week unwilling to confirm or deny that it is the local sporting organisation which plans to set up a centre of excellence on lands surrounding the abbey.However, the LARCC Cancer Support Centre in Ballinalack is, the Westmeath Examiner has learned, to relocate to the building currently occupied by the Franciscan friars at Multyfarnham.They will be joined by Console, the bereavement support group, who will move its national headquarters from Dublin to the north Westmeath village.Evanne Kilmurray, a consultant involved with plans to develop an area around the abbey in Multyfarnham, said that one wing of the buildings on site will be retained by the Franciscan brothers, while another wing and a half will accommodate LARCC's move from Ballinalack to the former agricultural college.A further wing and a half will become the national headquarters for Console, which is a registered charity supporting and helping people bereaved through suicide.Ms. Kilmurray said that once the buildings are occupied by the organisations, plans are afoot to develop lands acquired from the Franciscan Order.She confirmed that a sporting organisation has been allocated "a certain amount of land" for the construction of a centre of excellence, and that "aspirational plans" are in the pipeline for the development of a green technology centre, among other initiatives.