Heritage Sites
Seanad Éireann — 2026-04-22
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Nessa Cosgrove (LAB), Labour Panel

I thank the Aire Stáit for his response and support. It is welcome that the season has been extended by six weeks but it leaves the staff in a precarious position. They have to sign on, which makes no sense, or else they have to get new jobs for that season. This could eventually lead to all that experience and knowledge being lost. Sligo Abbey has in the past few years been looking at festivals throughout the year. It has put on a huge amount of stuff around Christmas, working with things like Music Generation Sligo. It has transformed the space. For St. Brigid's Day, there were carvings in the abbey to mark our patron saint. They were going to build things around that but, unfortunately, it will be closed. It is the same for St. Valentine's Day. There is a love knot carving in the abbey. It will be open for St. Patrick's Day.
In fairness to the Minister of State, Deputy Moran, he has shown commitment to it. It would be great if the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, could bring this suggestion back to him. We see the impact it has had at Donegal Castle. As the Minister of State said, the shoulder season is an important part of the year, particularly for rural towns.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-04-22/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:50+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-22