Tourism boost for North Tipperary

North Tipperary has lagged behind its neighbours Clare and Limerick in terms of tourism visitor numbers but the county is poised for significant tourism growth with the news that the Lár na Páirce GAA museum in Thurles is currently undergoing a major refurbishment. Over €50,000 is being invested in the museum which originally opened in 1994.

Thurles is renowned for being the birthplace of the GAA and the museum fits naturally into Thurles’s main selling point – its sporting heritage. Speaking to Liam Ó Donnchú from Lár na Páirce GAA museum this week, Liam explained the thinking behind the major refurbishment. “We had a strong vision when we originally opened the centre, aiming it to be an unique development in the interpretation and fostering of Irish culture and heritage. When President Mary Robinson opened the centre in 1994, the centre was at the forefront of interpretative centre design but a lot has developed in terms of lighting and audio visual since then. When we decided to upgrade and refurbish the museum, we approached North Tipperary LEADER Partnership and found them to be fully supportive of our vision for Thurles and the museum.”

Trisha Purcell of North Tipperary LEADER Partnership believes that “the museum is currently under appreciated locally, nationally and by visitors from abroad and we were delighted to receive an application to add value to their existing tourism offering with better displays, interactive audio and developing tour packages”.

Over the last three months, a team of installers have been busy developing new audio visual displays, installing lighting and laying new flooring. Seamus King of Lár na Páirce tells us that all the staff and volunteers behind the scenes are delighted with the new museum experience and believe it will become one of North Tipperary’s top visitor experiences. We can’t wait until the museum reopens on Friday 11th October to see it for ourselves.