New hourly rail service between Dublin and Belfast also planned
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Tánaiste Micheál Martin and Minister Eamon Ryan have announced that the Government is to invest €10 million in a renewed visitor experience at the Battle of the Boyne site.
This is just one item in a list of funding commitments worth over €800 million from the Shared Island Fund.
Other local projects to receive funding include the construction of the long awaited Narrow Water Bridge linking Mourne Mountains with the Cooley Peninsula, completing the Carlingford greenway, and funding of €12.5 million for a new hourly rail service between Dublin and Belfast.
Oldbridge Estate was purchased by the State in 2000, due to its national significance as the site of the historic Battle of the Boyne. Following extensive renovation and development, the Battle of the Boyne Visitor Centre opened to the public in summer 2008.
In 2022, an updated Conservation Management Plan was commissioned by OPW, and is now completed. This plan aims to present and sensitively interpret the Battle of the Boyne site. The future development of the site will be guided by the plan, including:
- Ensuring overall conservation and protection of the site;
- Consideration of potential for deepening North-South community interaction and advancing reconciliation.
- Contributing to the tourism and economic agenda for Meath and south Louth.
Making today’s announcements, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said:
“The return of the power-sharing Executive is hugely important for the people of Northern Ireland and has brought renewed hope for what can be achieved through the Good Friday Agreement. The funding announced today shows our commitment to working with the new Executive, and with the UK Government, to make the island of Ireland a better place for everyone who calls it home.
“At approximately €1 billion, it is the largest ever package of Government funding for cross-border investments.
“This funding is about all-island investment, boosting the all-island economy and improving connections North and South, benefiting both jurisdictions and all communities. It is about understanding that, whatever the constitutional future of Ireland brings, investing in people, in quality of life, in opportunity, and for the generations to come, are all of our responsibilities and a common good we can best progress by working together.”
Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin said: “Today marks an important moment, and I believe, the beginning of a new and positive chapter in cross border cooperation.
“When I established the Shared Island Initiative in the Department of the Taoiseach in 2020, I was clear that for it to be successful, it needed to be a whole-of-Government priority.
As ministerial colleagues reach out to and begin visits with their Northern colleagues, I am excited about the future of the initiative.”
“With today’s funding allocations, the Government is taking a step forward with our Shared Island investment objectives and meeting commitments under the New Decade, New Approach agreements.
“It is a clear signal that if we are to address climate challenges we are better to work on an all-island basis. New funding for an hourly-frequency rail service between the two largest cities on the island will significantly improve public transport connectivity along the Dublin-Belfast economic corridor and is in keeping with the vision of the All-Island Strategic Rail Review.”
Welcoming today’s announcement Fine Gael TD and Chairperson of the Joint Committee on the Good Friday Agreement, Fergus O’Dowd said he was absolutely delighted.
“This is a project I have been working on with my colleague Minister of the OPW, Patrick O’Donovan since November 2021 when we first met with OPW officials in Oldbridge House to discuss the opportunities for the facility to become a key meeting point for North-South activities.
His party colleague, Councillor Sharon Tolan, said, “This funding is about all-island investment, boosting local and all-island economy and improving connections North and South.
“It is particularly wonderful news locally that the Government has confirmed a major investment in developing a renewed visitor experience for the Battle of the Boyne site as a priority to raise the heritage and tourism profile of Oldbridge which has a unique historic and community significance on the island.”
