- This page is solely dedicated to follow the progress of the restoration project.
- Over the coming weeks and as each stage develops we will share all the information, including the overall cost of the project, the design process, the entity that will hold the lease and who are the directors.
- We will always offer complete transparency all through the restoration and fund raising process, however if there is anything you wish to know at any point of the project, just ask.
- The entity that will hold the lease is a not for profit company limited by guarantee. The name of this company is Ionad Oidhreachta Acla CLG with 2 directors as listed below.
- The company’s main objective is to create employment, develop a unique visitor centre exploring and sharing our cultural heritage. A place of learning & discovery.
Most of Tom’s life he’s been involved in maritime works and has sailed extensively to many remote parts.
Between the years 2000 – 2004 he was part of an expedition that circumnavigated the world inside the polar circle, passing out by Achill Head and sailing North West to Greenland and through the Northwest Passage over the top of Canada & Alaska, the following year he took on the Northeast Passage, crossing Russia, arriving at the top of Norway one year later.
He and his team were the first yacht to circumnavigate the North Pole in a westerly direction.
Those four years brought them into small islands and hamlets like our own here in Achill.
“Having looked at how people existed in some harsh places with temperatures dropping to -40, I figured we in Achill have it easy”.
Currently he is involved in tourism both driving and tour coordinating all over the UK and Ireland.
Vincent has always been involved in Achill’s heritage, collecting information & artifacts over the years. He has been instrumental in organizing festivals to mark significant dates in Achill’s history. After visiting many heritage centers in Ireland and abroad, one thing that always stood out was, “Why hasn’t Achill got its own Heritage Centre”, he said. Following a visit to the Oskar Schindler factory and visitor centre in Kraków he returned with a plan, to open a visitor centre in Achill. In 2016 he founded the Achill Heritage Centre, opening the doors to the public on 25th March. Immediately after opening and seeing the interest from the local people and visitors to the centre, he knew he was on to something and started looking for bigger more suitable premises. In 2017 a proposal was made to Comharchumann Forbartha Acla, the management committee for the monastery. The proposal was, to lease the buildings and land with a view to restoring the buildings and relocate the heritage Centre there, this was unanimously welcomed and from then, the plan began. In 2018, he along with Tom Moran visited New York, Boston & Cleveland in the US, promoting Achill heritage. Following that trip, he felt that even though the Achill diaspora were connected to each other in the area they lived, he looked at ways to connect them to each other globally and so, the Achill Diaspora Group was born.
***More Updates Coming Soon
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The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.
Walt Disney
It always seems impossible, until it’s done.
Nelson Mandela
Hold to the now, the here, through which all future plunges to the past.
James Joyce
Achill Heritage 