Planning permission has been submitted for enhancements at Strokestown Park in Co. Roscommon, which currently features the National Famine Museum, a restored Palladian House, and Walled Gardens, attracting over 100,000 visitors annually.
The proposed development includes extending woodland trails, creating outdoor learning zones for children, constructing a holistic eco-centre pavilion, and building a replica of a fourth-class house to depict the living conditions of the poorest during the famine.
The application puts emphasis on sustainable building practices and aims to foster a stronger connection with nature, encouraging families and visitors to interact with the park’s outdoor facilities.
New car parking facilities, footpaths and extension to the existing bus parking, public lighting, drainage, landscaping and all other ancillary site works
The Irish Heritage Trust, managing Strokestown Park since 2015, seeks to enhance the site’s attractions and address ongoing issues, with a decision on the planning application expected in November 2024.
The application said:, “Earlier this year, The Irish Heritage Trust and Westward Group submitted an Expression of Interest to Failte Ireland seeking funding under the Just Transition Fund. In this submission, the applicants, had identified several projects which would greatly enhance the visitor experience at Strokestown Park and resolve a number of on-going problems. The Just Transition Fund was established to fund eco-tourism projects in designated areas. Strokestown Park, with the grand main house and walled gardens, offers a superlative look at how the landed gentry and upper classes lived during the famine times, however there is little to show how the poorest subsisted. As part of the National Famine Museum experience it is important that this be addressed. The 1841 Irish census was the first census to report on housing, the census categorized houses in four classes. Fourth Class houses were described as mud/sod cabins having only one room with no windows. The 1841 census indicated that 40pc of the rural population was living in fourth Class housing. By the 1900s fourth Class housing has disappeared, leaving little or no trace. It is estimated that of the 2m or so who perished during the famine, the majority lived in fourth class housing.”
