Council is ‘happy' to get involved in talks on museum

Westmeath County Council has said it would be happy to contribute to discussions aimed at having a museum established in Mullingar.

However, it has cautioned, research would need to be undertaken before any such project could get off the ground.

The council’s stance on the museum question was set out in writing for Cllr Bill Collentine in response to a proposal made by him at the most recent meeting of the Mullingar Municipal District Committee.

Cllr Collentine’s proposal was that the district establish a ring-fenced budget over a number of years to fund a museum for Mullingar town.

The written response to Cllr Collentine’s motion reminded him that some investigations had taken place into the scope and feasibility of a railway museum in Mullingar in the late 1990s and in the following few years.

“However, in light of the many subsequent changes in tourism and heritage policy and funding schemes available, some re-focused research into the potential, scope and feasibility of this proposal would now need to be conducted,” the response stated.

It added that this research would need to take account of the future management and operations of the museum, in addition to its potential to attract capital investment from public and private sources. “A portion of the pre-development costs associated with this study may be eligible for support under the LEADER Programme or other schemes and the council would be happy to contribute to discussions aimed at bringing forward proposals of this nature,” the response concluded.

“I’m happy with the answer: it’s quite positive,” said Cllr Collentine. He said it was “shameful” that there is no museum in town despite the number artefacts that survive and that are associated with Mullingar’s transport, military, sporting and musical history.

He said example could be taken from Ballyjamesduff and Monaghan, both of which have good museums.

“We have to start somewhere,” he said.

Supporting Cllr Collentine’s motion, Cllr Andrew Duncan said he couldn’t agree more, while Cllr Ken Glynn said he fully supported the budget and feasibility study proposals.

Cllr Mick Dollard too supported the call as did Cllr Johnnie Penrose and Cllr Paddy Hill.