Minister O'Donovan visits Oldbridge Estate and Drogheda to view St Laurence’s Gate and the site of proposed flood relief works

Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works, Mr. Patrick O’Donovan, T.D., today met with Government colleagues at Oldbridge House, Drogheda, the historic site of the Battle of the Boyne. The site is of deep historical and political significance to many communities across the island of Ireland, and the meeting explored the role this OPW heritage site can continue to play in North-South relations. Oldbridge Estate has regularly played a role in governmental business over the years and has hosted several high-level events, including the “Group of 6” EU Finance Ministers Conference, a visit from the President of the European Parliament and several appointments with Stormont Ministers.

Situated on 500 acres that take in much of the original battlefield, Oldbridge House today provides an interpretative centre for those who wish to learn more about the Battle or to explore the battlefield itself. The restored parklands attract 400,000 visitors annually and received a Green Flag and a Green Heritage award from An Taisce last week in recognition of the high standards achieved in maintaining them in an environmentally sustainable manner and of the unique historic significance of the site.

Following his visit, Minister O’Donovan said:

“This heritage site, which is a beautiful amenity for residents of the locality today, is a powerful site of memory in Ireland. As such, it is important that we conserve it in order to maintain the dialogue between past and present. The deeply symbolic moment when it was opened in 2008 jointly by then-Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and then-Fist Minister of Northern Ireland Ian Paisley shows us that it is a site where history continues to be made and I believe it can be the meeting ground for our communities in the future.”

From Oldbridge, Minister O’Donovan then travelled on to Drogheda where he visited St Laurence’s gate, the thirteenth-century Barbican Gate that once formed part of the town walls. The OPW monitors and carries out routine maintenance on this National Monument in State care and in the past has facilitated limited, controlled access to it for community events such as the Fleadh and Arts Festival. This access was strictly ticketed due to the physical constraints within the monument and health and safety concerns.

The Minister concluded his visit to the town with a meeting with Louth County Council and OPW engineers and Council officials on North Quay, where they discussed progress on the Drogheda and Baltray Flood Relief Scheme. In September, Minister O’Donovan had announced the appointment by Louth County Council, in partnership with the OPW, of RPS Consulting Engineers Ltd as Engineering Consultants to carry out the design of the scheme. The Consultant Engineers have commenced work on the design of the scheme, details of which can be viewed in the flood risk management plans available on www.floodinfo.ie

Minister O’Donovan invited local stakeholders and members of the public to engage in the consultation process and to avail of the opportunity to input into the development of the scheme. He said:

“It is important to note that the measures set out in the flood risk management plan for Drogheda and Baltray are not definitive and final, and that as part of the project-level assessment that is required to prepare the measure for planning, more detailed assessments are required at a local level. As such, there is further scope for the community's views to be voiced and to influence the measures that are progressed to implementation.”

Full details of the public consultation process will be advertised well in advance, giving everybody plenty of time to fully engage in the development of the scheme.

The Drogheda and Baltray Flood Relief Scheme is being delivered under Project Ireland 2040, where the Government is providing an investment of €1 billion on flood relief over the next decade. The proposed scheme consists of the construction of a series of hard defences, including flood embankments and walls along the River Boyne, improvement of conveyance, hard defences and a flow diversion channel on various tributaries, road raising and automated defences to allow continued operation of port activities. It will protect 183 residential and 198 commercial properties in Drogheda with a further 73 properties protected in Baltray against a flood event with a 1% probability of occurring in any given year (more commonly known as the 1-in-100-year flood).

-ENDS-

For further information and photographs of the different stops on the itinerary, please contact pressoffice@opw.ie

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