Locals insist Clonmacnois application is dead

The current bid to attain World Heritage site status for Clonmacnois is "finished", a local action group has reiterated again this week and the process needs to go right back to square one. They were responding to comments from Minister John Gormley that he is committed to further consultation in relation the present proposed application for Clonmacnois. It also emerged that Offaly County Council is set to meet Department officials next week in relation to the proposed nomination of Clonmacnois to the World Heritage List, in a bid to resolve outstanding issues, a move which appears to be at odds with Taoiseach Brian Cowen's comments from the mintues of a meeting over a month ago that no World Heritage application would be made to UNESCO without local community agreement and the current proposal is now dead. According to the minutes of a meeting with Clonmacnois Action Group, Mr Cowen also committed to a liaison person to be nominated from the Department to be a point of contact for local people regarding any future correspondence. It's understood that this measure has been agreed by Minister Gormley and is seen as a significant move if the logjam is to be breached and agreement reached in the future. Locals had voiced fears about the plan's impact on access and the extension burial grounds at the historic monastic site, the impact on planning and farming the extensive core and buffer zones would have, along with future implications for worshipping at the site and concerns about local schools and roads. "The view I would take and that of the group is that present process is finished," Chairperson of Clonmacnois Action Group, John Dolan said this week. "If Minister Gormley cares to come down he will also find it is finished. The present proposal is not acceptable and the process needs to go back to square one, that's the bottom line for locals." A spokesperson for the Department of the Environment said Minister Gormley had recently indicated that his Department is committed to further consultation with farmers and residents in relation to the proposed nomination. The form that this consultation might take is still under consideration, he added. Mr Dolan went on to point out that the group had not received correspondence from the Taoiseach's office as of yet putting into writing the commitment he gave the group at the Clonmacnois meeting over a month ago, a measure he has promised. "If there is a conflict between Minister Gormley and the Taoiseach on this, then it is up to them to resolve it. But it won't change local people's feelings on it and it can't be a success unless you bring local people with you. The present format is unacceptable. No is no," he reiterated, adding that they were not unreasonable but the process needed to start from step one and a brand new plan be drawn up with local consultation. The World Heritage nomination bid for Clonmacnois is part of the current programme for Government. Taoiseach Brian Cowen has previously stated he was in favour of World Heritage status for Clonmacnoise but only with full local agreement. Ireland currently has just three sites deemed by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) to be World Heritage sites - Skeilig Mhicíl in Kerry, the Giant's Causeway in Antrim and Newgrange, Co Meath.