Sinn Féin member of Monaghan Co Council Cathy Bennett has taken up the cause of an enhanced promotional drive for the tourism value of the Sliabh Beagh area.
Feeling in the locality that it is missing out in promotional efforts being made to attract more tourists to Co Monaghan was reflected in a recent Letter to the Editor in this newspaper.
The issue was raised by Colr Bennett at the recent meeting of the Ballybay-Clones Municipal District.
In a question on the agenda, she asked for a breakdown of the works identified as “Priority One” for the Sliabh Beagh area in the Co Council’s recently adopted new tourism strategy.
“Residents in this area feel that not enough is being done by Monaghan Co Council to promote this area as a tourist attraction,” the SF representative stated, adding: “Promotion of this area would benefit Co Monaghan significantly.”
The following written reply responded to Colr Bennett’s question:
“Priority One in the Tourism Strategy includes actions specifically relating to the further development of Sliabh Beagh. One key action is the identification of walks which require upgrading. This will be followed by the identification of other priority projects with a tourism focus (signage, interpretation, viewing points etc) for which funding will then be sought. The Tourism Officer [Dympna Condra] will work in conjunction with the Heritage Officer [Shirley Clerkin] and the relevant Municipal District staff to progress these actions.
“With regard to the promotion of Sliabh Beagh, Monaghan Co Council Tourism Unit develops and produces promotional materials on a county basis. All these materials (website, brochures etc) include information on Sliabh Beagh. Several actions in the Tourism Strategy focus on Tourism Promotion and Sliabh Beagh will feature in these new initiatives as a matter of course.”
