Rural-based learning key to community-driven project

The plan to lure American college students to a tiny rural hamlet in Connemara could be replicated across the west of Ireland.

Connemara West was named as the body responsible for examining the potential to promote rural Ireland as the destination of choice for US colleges wishing to avail of a rural based learning or study abroad experience in the Government’s new action plan for rural development, Realising Our Rural Potential.

Dr Kevin Heanue, chairman of Connemara West, said after reaching agreement with seven American colleges, it was clear there existed an untapped market to attract foreign students from rural institutions who had no interest in developing links with urban centres.

They preferred students to experience life in a safer, rural environment.

“I think there’s huge potential for this model in rural communities. If we can continue with our pilot of this, it can work in other locations. There is a real market for this. We won’t take any more expressions of interest from US colleges because we can’t meet demand.”

Key to the project is that it is community driven.

Connemara West is a community development company based in Letterfrack which has 500 shareholders and is run by a board of ten directors. It employs 28 people.

Set up in 1971, its first project was to build nine self-catering thatched cottages at Tullycross, known as the Renvyle Thatched Cottages. Its second major project was the creation of Teach Ceoil in Tully, a heritage and cultural centre which holds masterclasses by world renowned Irish dancers and singers.

The company has also built a community crèche. Through a partnership with the GMIT it set up the Furniture College. Another project, Conservation Letterfrack, preserves and restores wooden artefacts, doing work for the likes of the National Museum.

Other pioneering projects it has worked on are Connemara Community Radio and Forum Connemara.

It provides services to the local community through the Connemara West Centre, which is located in the former St Joseph’s Industrial School in Letterfrack.

“We are building on this legacy of innovative, creative projects with this new strategy based around education-led tourism,” said Dr Heanue.

“Six years ago, underpinned by extensive market research, we began to develop this strategy based on education, heritage, the diaspora in the United States and niche tourism.”

For every US student and faculty member that comes to Tullycross, on average at least one other visitor comes to Ireland, which in effect doubles the initial number of visitors to the area.

“This influx of visitors is a significant economic benefit to the Connemara region. The residential education centre will also benefit the broader region and Galway City. This is a significant addition to the destination infrastructure on the Wild Atlantic Way and for the European Capital of Culture in 2020.

The company has already been approached by individuals and organisations wishing to hold events and conferences in the new centre to support the European Capital of Culture.

Oireachtas members and councillors who attended this week’s briefing on the plan spoke about the potential for this to be rolled out across the region.

Oughterard Councillor Tom Welby said money was never the biggest stumbling block for these kinds of developments.

“The funding will come – it’s to have the product right. In Oughterard we raised €70,000 to do up the old courthouse and were able to leverage €700,000 to carry it out. If you raise a small amount you can leverage the big amount.”