Rural Westmeath 'more hidden than visible' on Fáilte Ireland maps say councillors

Fáilte Ireland has come under fire from local councillors for ignoring “large swathes” of rural Westmeath in its Hidden Heartlands tourist map for the county

Speaking at the September meeting of Mullingar Kinnegad Municipal District (MKMD) Cllr Denis Leonard said that on the Hidden Heartlands map “if you draw a line from Fore Abbey down to Kilbeggan Distillery right through Mullingar, you'd think nothing is happening in the north east or the east of the county at all”.

“I think that it is very remiss that we advertise in that way leaving out large swathes of our county where there is huge history and huge heritage.”

Cllr Leonard said that he and other councillors had received an email from a Delvin resident highlighting that the village and surrounding area has not been featured on the Hidden Heartland map.

“...There is a huge area around Delvin that is not being highlighted. How can Hidden Heartlands neglect that side of the county.”

The Labour man said that with the exception of Fore and Tullynally large sections of rural Westmeath aren't featured.

“Other parts of the county have also done fantastic work and it needs to all be brought to bear by a tourist trail that encompasses all of that.

“...How in the world can we draw up a map like this that highlights everything in Mullingar, Athlone and the north of the county and leaves out everything east of here? I think it is highly dismissive and half baked and I think it shouldn't have happened.”

Cllr Leonard added that the recent transformation of the building that housed Harry's of Kinnegad from a hotel into refugee accommodation saw “the only potential we had for tourism accommodation in eastern Westmeath turned into something else because someone's going to make a fortune out of it”.

“I know we are in a national crisis but there are so many other buildings in the county that could have been looked at. What's happening is that we are continually losing tourist infratructure, which is our largest industry in the country.”

Frank McDermott said that when it comes to Ireland's Hidden Heartlands, he takes the view that “there is more hidden than visible”.

“You take a line from Fore to Athboy; take a line from Mullingar to Kells, not a word about the beautiful castle at the top of the town in Delvin, or Clonyn Castle; not a word about Brinsley McNamara or Larry Ginnell; St John's Church in Clonmellon or Killua Castle outside Clonmellon.”

Cllr McDermott said that it was “terrible” to look at the Hidden Heartlands map and to see how “drab and empty looking” many parts of the county appear.

Emily Wallace said that Hidden Heartlands map “seems to concentrate more on the Athlone section of the country than the Mullingar section, unfortunately”.

“We are not showing what we actually have,” she said.

Huge work is being done by tourism providers, food producers and community groups in this part of the county and it is “disrespectful” that it is not being properly promoted, Cllr Wallace said.

Cllr Aoife Davitt noted that there is “no mention” of Lilliput on the Hidden Heartlands map.

“There are glaring omissions,” she said.

Mayor Hazel Smyth said that it is important that “we are highlighting all of the gems that we have in Westmeath”.

Responding to Cllr Leonard's motion in which he requests that Fáilte Ireland “actively engages” with councillors on "tourism infrastructure, accommodation and signage in rural areas", the local authority MKMD said:

Westmeath County Council and Fáilte Ireland have a strong working relationship, engaging and collaborating on a range of projects and initiatives on an ongoing basis. We look forward to continued collaboration in the future in order to maximise the impact of the Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands experience brand for this area. Ongoing joint initiatives include an activation programme for the Royal Canal Greenway and the recent Local Link tourist bus connection to North Westmeath including Castlepollard, along with marketing actions.