OPW seeks mobile catering facilities at Clonmacnoise

One of Offaly's top tourist attractions is seeking to put a mobile catering unit in place for the upcoming tourist season.

The Office of Public Works (OPW), which is responsible for Ireland's heritage sites, including Clonmacnoise, is this week advertising for submissions from suitably qualified candidates for the operation of a mobile catering unit at the monastic site for the 2025 season.

As reported in the Offaly Independent last week, the Clonmacnoise site currently has no catering facilities in place for this year, following the closure of the one remaining shop which was operating in the area. A coffee shop which formed part of the visitor attraction closed during the Covid pandemic and has not reopened to visitors since.

A leading Midlands tour operator called on the OPW last week to to “immediately address” the lack of catering facilities at Clonmancoise and said it was “totally unacceptable” for him to have to advise tourists visiting the site to bring a packed lunch with them.

Pearse Connell, who runs a company called Hidden Heartlands Tours offering boat tours to the monastic settlement at Clonmacnoise, said last week that the only facilities for 2025 at what is one of the top tourist attractions in the country are “bathroom facilities." He added that, currently, people won't even be able to "buy a bottle of water, much less a cup of tea or coffee" if they visit Clonmacnoise.

More than 118,000 domestic and overseas visitors paid a visit to Clonmacnoise in 2024, and it is currently ranked at number 8 in the list of heritage sites under the control of the OPW nationwide.

The closing date for submissions to the OPW for those interested in operating a mobile catering unit at the site during the 2025 tourist season is Wednesday, April 30.