Council to proceed with Mary Robinson library despite ‘complicating factors’

Mayo County Council intends to proceed with plans for a presidential library in Mary Robinson’s former home in Ballina despite “complicating factors” , the council’s chief executive Peter Hynes has said.

Mr Hynes was asked by two councillors, Michael Loftus and Gerry Ginty, at a council meeting on Monday evening to clarify the situation in light of a report in The Irish Times that the sale of the three-storey Victoria House for the project has not been completed.

Mrs Robinson was born in Victoria House, a period house on the river Moy, which is owned by her brother, Adrian Bourke, and accommodates his solicitor’s firm.

The council has committed €1.5 million to cover the purchase of the house and the land around it, plus design fees. It is believed Mr Bourke and the council have yet to agree a sale price.

In his response to councillors, Mr Hynes did not refer to price but said “other factors have complicated the project.”

“I don’t want to get into the detail of that.”

€1.5m commitment

Mr Hynes said the council would not exceed its €1.5 million commitment. Neither, he said, would the council exceed any expenditure indicated in a report prepared for councillors when the project was first mooted.

Mr Hynes added: “In terms of the project, it is at the advanced design stage. It is our intention that it proceed.”

He said the proposed centre was one of the most important projects to come before the council in the last decade. He described Mrs Robinson as “one of the few global leaders that have been produced in this country”.

He went on: “Very few people get the kind of reaction to a couple of short statements she made to a conference a few weeks ago. Whether right, wrong, good or bad the impact is there and her legacy is one which this county and this region will be proud of.”

Mr Hynes said that when tenders for the project were opened, a full report would be placed before the council. He expected the report to be available in January or February next.

At the close of the discussion, Councillor Loftus welcomed the assurances on the project given by the chief executive, citing the huge importance to the north Mayo area of the library from an academic and tourism viewpoint.