Thanks to Morag Ferguson for the following report.
On the 3 September 2025 the Board of Lismore Gaelic Heritage Centre invited all stakeholders to a meeting in the Centre share and consult on their intention to extend and improve the Centre. An email was sent to all members and shared through social media. 20 people attended including a reasonable cross-section of stake holders. The consultation began with a presentation which included the key points outlined below:
Plans are in progress to create a rejuvenated Museum, Café and Shop fit for purpose and able to ensure future financial sustainability. The plans would be designed to meet modern visitor expectations while retaining the characteristics of the current centre.
The hope is to create:
a modern kitchen with better workspace and food storage for the Café;
a re-designed shop space to better promote our local crafts and produce;
a second museum room to ensure that both medieval artefacts and Gaelic culture could have suitable representation;
expanded and interactive exhibitions with a focus on Gaelic and Celtic storytelling;
new language options and accessible interpretation to engage with a wider range of visitors;
a covered link to the cottage for wet-weather visits.
The improved museum space will be designed to provide an engaging experience and a deeper understanding of the history of the area, increasing dwell-time and encouraging more tourist visits to the area. Longer stays will result in greater spend in the local economy and the local community will see the history of the area being better protected and interpreted. Slides were also shared which included visual representations of possible design outcomes.
An open discussion followed and in summary, all present agreed that an extension to the Centre was the next logical step and would be appreciated by visitors and the local community. There were some questions around the detail and we reassured everyone that we would consult again as plans developed and that we were seeking approval in principle at this stage.
The Board indicated that the immediate next step was to pursue fundraising to secure a Project Officer position and then commence work on the design stages of the project.