Pot increased for Shannon visitor centre

It might be worth its weight in gold as a tourist magnet but the total bill for the Shannon Pot Discovery Centre will come in at nearer €10 million, a third more than initially anticipated.

First announced in May 2021, as one of four large scale tourism projects, the price tag for the project was put at around €6.4M.

At the time, Fáilte Ireland committed €4.8M towards the delivery of the Shannon Pot Discovery Centre and a connected Cavan Burren Park attraction, with the local authority set to provide some money from its own coffers.

The vision is to deliver a world class visitor centre and experience in the northern region of Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands (IHH) at the source of the River Shannon, as well as additional facilities at the already hugely popular Cavan Burren Park site.

The discovery centre design aims to maximise views of Cuilcagh and the surrounding area, and create a link with Cavan Burren Park, while minimising the visual impact of the building on the landscape. Elements such as augmented reality will also be incorporated to allow visitors embrace fully the history and heritage of the area, including lore tracing back to the legendary Finn MacCool and na Fianna.

The main element of the Cavan Burren development involves the creation of walks through the megalithic field structures and on towards a raised ‘tree-top’ walk to give views towards Cuilcagh, Garvagh Lake and the Shannon Pot.

However, an additional €2.6M was required to get the project over the line, if the aim of having visitors on site by mid Summer 2025 is to be realised. This was approved by the National Tourism Development Authority earlier this month.

It brings a total amount of funding up to €7.4M towards total project costs of €10M.

In a statement from Fáilte Ireland to The Anglo-Celt, a spokesperson said that both sites are part of the Marble Arch Caves UNESCO Global Geopark and are linked via the Cavan Way and located within five kilometres from one another.

“Together, the two sites, The Shannon Pot and Cavan Burren Park, promise to create a unique and exciting experience.”

The additional funding approval was welcomed by local Fianna Fáil councillor, John Paul Feeley, who said that the local authority had recently approved their share of the additional expenditure.

He described the funding approval as the “last piece of the jig-saw to fall into place”.

“This final approval allows construction to start! This project can be transformative for West Cavan and create a flagship tourist attraction for the region, I look forward to visitors enjoying these new facilities in 2025 with what I hope will be a growing economic spin off in the wider region.”

The appointment of a contractor is imminent, with a view to workers moving on site in the coming weeks.

Cllr Feeley thanked the council officials, members of the Cuilcagh Lakelands Geopark team, the architect and other consultants for their work in getting this project to this stage.

"I want to thank them for their genuine commitment to this vital project,” said Cllr Feeley.

“They have made huge efforts to take on board the views of the local community and have put a huge personal effort into the project.”