durrow abbey co. offaly conservation plan - Offaly County Council

DEFINING ISSUES AND VULNERABILITY
OWNERSHIP
In December 2003 the state acquired Durrow
Abbey House and thir ty-one hectares of surrounding
demesne lands. This land includes the core of
the former demesne and is the site of many of the
principal man made features.
The neighbouring lands are in the ownership of
Coillte, Golden Vale Co-op and Mrs Sheila O’Brien,
the former owner of Durrow Abbey House. Archaeological
and architectural features relating to the
various periods of development at Durrow can still
be identified in par ts on these lands.
CLIENT’S REQUIREMENTS AND
RESOURCES
The state is keen to ensure the survival of all elements
identified as being of significance to the site.
The objectives for the site are for the conservation
and presentation of the monuments and promotion
of the educational benefits of the site, delivered
within the existing resources of the Depar tment of
Environment, Heritage and Local Government and
the Office of Public Works.
USES FOR SITE
A balance must be struck between the requirement
for public access to the key features of the site.
their continued preservation and any future use
of the site. Public access is a requirement to the
monastic core of the site including St Columba’s
Church, St Columcille’s graveyard and well. While
a level of public access to Durrow Abbey House
would be desirable, it is unlikely that a future use
for the house will be found which will guarantee
public access at all times of the year. The house is
not of sufficient architectural merit to attract the
necessary visitor numbers in its own right.
EXTERNAL REQUIREMENTS
Durrow Abbey is located off the N52 National
Secondary Route in the townland of Durrow
Demesne, Co. Offaly, approximately eight kilometers
nor th of Tullamore and six kilometers south of
Kilbeggan, County Westmeath.
Durrow Abbey is located six kilometers south of the
N6, the principal thoroughfare for traffic between
Dublin and Galway. The N6 is an established tourist
route, channelling visitor flows to and from the
western seaboard.
The central location of Durrow in the country and
its proximity to principal roads such as the N52,
N6 and N7 (located 25 kilometers to the south)
means that it is readily accessible to most par ts of
the country.
The area surrounding the demesne lands is in
predominantly agricultural use, as is much of the
demesne itself. Dairy and livestock farming are the
principal occupations in the area. The demesne lands
are not under any regional, national or European
environmental designations.
Durrow Abbey is affected by four tiers of planning
and development policy - national, regional, county
and local. The status of the relevant documents and
the existing policy is briefly outlined below.
National Framework
The National Spatial Strategy (“NSS”) is a twenty
year planning framework designed to achieve a
better balance of social, economic and physical
development and population growth between the
regions. Durrow is located in the Midlands region
of the National Spatial Strategy. It is situated within
the linked gateway of Mullingar, Tullamore and
Athlone. The objective of this gateway is to combine
the complementary strengths of the three towns
to boost the regions overall economic strength.
Durrow Abbey’s strategic location within the
triangular gateway suggests a potentially impor tant
role in the provision of recreational amenity and
cultural tourism development as the midlands
gateway emerges.
The N52 Regional Road, which forms the eastern
boundary of the site and indirectly links Tullamore
to Mullingar and Athlone, is identified in the NSS as
a National Transpor t Corridor. Although no plans
exist as yet this suggests that an upgrade of the
road may become necessary in the medium to long
term to reinforce the connections between the
midlands gateway towns.
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