Cllr. Ted Tynan
The Workers’ Party have called on Cork City Council and the state to “pull the plug” on the public funding for the proposed Events Centre and instead initiate the process of having the Beamish & Crawford site declared a national monument.
Workers’ Party Councillor Ted Tynan said it was time the local authority and government should stop trying to give the “kiss of life” to a dead project and he accused BAM of utter bad faith in its dealings with the council and its general sense of entitlement to massive public funding including €8 million from Cork City Council & €30 million from the state.
Cllr. Tynan said: “BAM is taking Cork City Council and the state for a ride and its plans for the site change on an almost daily basis. The original proposals have been watered down severely and are now secondary to an ever expanding apartment complex which will not in any way impact on the current housing crisis”.
Artists impression of Events Centre as originally proposed
“The recent archaeological survey of the site, which was already recognised as being the cradle of the original city, shows that this is a site of national if not international importance and should be viewed in that light and preserved in an accessible and appropriate way.”
Handle of Viking sword found on Cork’s Beamish & Crawford site
The Workers’ Party councillor said: “the developers of the so-called Events Centre want to bury this ancient site under thousands of tons of concrete and represent it with a few exhibits. This is not acceptable and I will be proposing that Cork City Council seek to have the site declared as a National Monument. It should then be taken over under Compulsory Purchase Order. I have every confidence that this could become a huge tourist attraction which would be far more beneficial to the city and region than any events centre”
“The Beamish & Crawford site has far more archaeological merit than, for instance, the Moore Street National Monument in Dublin which is preserved because of its symbolic and historical merits. The Cork site is a national monument in every sense of the word and should be preserved. At the same time it is beyond time to pull the plug on BAM and this discredited project” said Cllr Tynan.