Sir, - In the aftermath of the Good Friday Agreement, we should be considering ideas for appropriate North/South co-operative projects. I would like to suggest one.
It would involve the acquisition and adaptation of Classiebawn Castle, County Sligo, as a museum to display the treasures from the three Armada wrecks which lie in nearby Streedagh Bay.
The castle was the property of Lord Mountbatten, who was murdered in Mullaghmore with his companions. Ironically, he had conveyed a wish, some years earlier, that the Government might acquire the Castle on some basis to be agreed, but this had not come to fruition. It has since been privately sold.
The remains of the three Spanish galleons lie close to the surface at Streedagh. They and their valuable artefacts are the subject of a Preservation Order. There has been litigation in relation to one group who were involved in diving at the wreck and recovering some artefacts. Clearly, it will require major resources in skill and scholarship to retrieve the material and to take all proper conservation measures to prepare them for exhibition and to provide a fitting place in which to do so.
As we plan for that, we could approach the present owner of Classiebawn with a view to purchasing it at some future date. A revenue deal in regard to present or future tax burdens could form part of the payment package. The work needed to convert the building to museum purposes could then be assessed.
While not necessarily designating the museum as such, it could be a fitting memorial not just to Earl Mountbatten but to the other victims, less distinguished but no less precious. It would also have a practical effect for tourism and employment in the area. Funding could come from the EU Interreg funding for cross-border projects, from the British funding for the peace package, from the Ireland Fund and from the cultural tourism allocation of the National Lottery.
We have already had a modest degree of North/South co-operation on an Armada project: the Trinidad Valencera artefacts now in the Ulster Museum were found in Donegal by the Derry Sub-aqua Club and were conveyed to the Northern authorities. The Streedagh/Classiebawn proposal would be far more challenging and long-term, but a feasibility study over the next year or so could have it ready for launching as a worthy Millenium project. - Yours, etc. Richard Stokes,
Blackrock, Co. Dublin.