Press Release

Monday 14^th May

New multi-million Euro Visitor Attraction Officially Opens!

Monday 14^th May heralds the end of many years of work and an estimated €10million investment when the development at Lough Key Forest & Activity Park, Boyle, Co. Roscommonis officially opened at 11.30am by Mary Coughlan T.D.

The new development at Lough Key Forest & Activity Park features such wonderful attractions as the unique Boda Borg House, an indoor adventure space containing numerous rooms in which absorbing puzzles and challenging tasks test teamwork, ingenuity and skill. The only one of its kind in existence outside of its home country Sweden, the Boda Borg offers visitors a totally unique and exciting adventure experience in Ireland.

A visually beautiful and contemporary structure existing in harmony with the trees in which it nestles, is the 300 metre long Tree Canopy Walk – also the first of its kind in Ireland, this unique viewing walkway meanders 9 metres high through the treetops, and commands unparalleled views out over Lough Key with its many islands, and beyond.

The tree canopy walk forms part of the Lough Key Experience – an audio self-guided trail combining the 19^th century underground servant tunnels and the refurbished 5-storey Moylurg viewing tower from which the expanse of the entire park can be seen.

Minister Coughlan commended the “collaborative” and “environmentally sensitive manner” in which the development of Lough Key has been undertaken, adding “there is a growing recognition of the social and economic values of these facilities and their national importance” and that a survey conducted in 2005 on behalf of Coillte and The Irish Sports Council “estimated the direct economic impact of forest recreation by Irish residents alone to be €268 million”.

Further visitor attractions at Lough Key Forest & Activity Park include: 

• A new outdoor Adventure Play Kingdom with many fun and stimulating features for children of all ages, from tiny tots who can fall on the state-of-the-art play surface and not hurt themselves, to older children who can thrill on the swings and climbing frames!
  
• 350 Hectare Estate including 19^th century parkland with majestic trees, follies, bridges and canals, an abundance of walks & trails through the native woodlands, Bog Garden & Forests!
  
• A superbly appointed Restaurant with breath-taking views of Lough Key, ‘Castle Island’ and Rockingham Harbour.

Lough Key Forest and Activity Park - which opens to the public on May 19^th - has been developed by Moylurg Rockingham Limited, a joint venture between Coillte and Roscommon County Council.  Speaking at Monday’s official opening, Chairman of Moylurg Rockingham John Tiernan said “This is a tremendous day for tourism in the region. Lough Key Forest Park has always been a jewel in the Irish tourism necklace but today we see a new gem being inserted. I am 100% confident that this development and range of products will be 100% successful in reaching the goals we have set. The right attractions are in place, an excellent team has been assembled to deliver this project and the entire project has been built and provided in the perfect place. These facilities will breathe new life in to the Park and generate tourism footfall in the surrounding area. More importantly also the project symbolises hope particularly for the people of Boyle and heralds more to come towards the provision of a complete package for tourists to enjoy and stay in the area”.

The project is also funded by the Irish Government and part-financed by the European Union under the National Development Plan 2000 - 2006 Tourism Product Development Scheme administered by Fáilte Ireland.

Ends

For more information please contact:

Neil Armstrong, General Manager, Lough Key Forest & Activity Park Pre-opening Office, 071 966 3242 / loughkey@roscommoncoco.ie

Noreen D’Arcy, D’Arcy Marketing & PR, 086 8227556 / darcymarketing@eircom.net

Further Details on Lough Key Forest & Activity Park:

Lough Key has for many centuries drawn people from near and far to its spectacular views, abundant wildlife, historic buildings and islands. This beautiful landscape is steeped in a rich history with remains of Neolithic and Bronze Age settlements and evidence of islands on the lake being used for defensive and religious purposes.  The lands around Lough Key were ruled by the MacDermott Clan from the 12^th century right through to the early 1600’s when they were granted to the King family from England under the Cromwellian settlement.  The King family resided on their estate at Lough Key, which was known as Rockingham, until September 1957 when a fire raged through their mansion completely destroying it.  The property was subsequently sold to the then Department of Lands and the ruinous house was razed to the ground in the early 1970’s.

Now after major development this historic backdrop encompasses a landmark cluster of unique attractions serving the needs of a 21^st century visitor with a new lakeside Centre providing an ideal gateway for gentle leisurely activities or more energetic pursuits in the Park.

The Lough Key Experience

On this journey visitors can discover how humans have shaped this landscape over thousands of years; be introduced to a way of life in Rockingham House that is now long gone and find out about the wildlife that thrives in these forests and on the lake.

The ‘Lough Key Experience’ is an engaging audio trail of the Park’s history, flora and fauna through the 19^th century underground tunnels, to the top of the refurbished 5-storey Moylurg viewing tower and along a contemporary Tree Canopy Walk, the first of its kind in Ireland.  This 300m long creation of timber and steel gently rises 9m above the woodland floor and offers an engaging ‘birds eye’ view of nature as it meanders through the treetops offering panoramic views of the shimmering island studded lake.

Boda Borg

An exciting new challenge can be explored in the world of Boda Borg through fun, laughter, and curiosity…

The innovative weather-independent Boda Borg is a unique Swedish concept containing fun-filled activities, imaginative puzzles and enjoyable tasks but no instructions!  Once visitors enter the challenging two-storey Boda Borg only teamwork using countless different skills, ingenuity, trial and error will allow them to progress from room to room!

Adventure Play Kingdom

Children of all ages can discover a land of exciting and entertaining activities in a colourful and safe environment. The outdoor Adventure Play Kingdom is an enclosed and stimulating play area with towers, slides, climbing frames, roundabouts, swings, puzzles and other innovative play equipment for a variety of ages and abilities.

The Park and Estate

Visitors can take time to explore many of the Park’s unique, natural and historical features from its 19^th century parkland with majestic trees, follies, bridges and canals to the numerous walks and trails through the native woodlands, Bog garden and forests.

This vast estate is predominantly covered by forest and woodland with both broadleaf and conifer trees growing within the Park.  The broadleaf trees include ash, oak, beech, lime, sycamore and horse chestnut, while the most prominent conifers are Norway spruce, Sitka spruce, Scots pine and the magnificent western red cedar.  Wild flowers in the Park include bluebell, wild garlic, wood anemone, ragged robin, summer snowflake, wood sorrel, primrose, yellow iris and meadow sweet.

With its diverse habitats the Park is home to many species of wildlife.  Mammals present include the fallow deer, fox, hare, rabbit, red squirrel and stoat, while the bat, otter and badger are mainly active at night.  Birds to be seen along the lakeshore include the heron, swan, mallard and tufted duck, while the jay, pheasant, wren and blue-tit are common throughout the Park.  Moorhen, robin and the colourful kingfisher are most visible along the canal banks.

A wealth of historical and archaeological points of interest can be found throughout the Park including ringforts, a souterrain, Fishing Pavilion, Fairy Bridge, Wishing Chair, Ice House, Stables and Estate Chapel.

Details on the Participating Bodies:

Moylurg Rockingham Ltd is a joint venture company established by Roscommon County Council & Coillte to develop and manage the Lough Key Forest Park

Coillte, the forestry and forest products business, is Ireland’slargest land owner and recognises that forests provide an excellent landscape for a wide range of recreational activities and as such has a special place in the provision of access to recreation.  Each year, Coillte welcomes over eight million visitors to its forests.  It has ten forest parks and over 150 recreation sites for visitors to enjoy. 

Roscommon County Council provides a variety of services, which impact the daily lives of those living and visiting the county. These vary from essential services such as the provision of water and sewerage facilities to those of a recreational nature such as libraries and the arts.Roscommon County Council is the primary unit of Local Government in the county and was established in 1899 following the enactment of the Local Government (Ireland) Act in 1898. The elected council consists of 26 members who are directly elected to represent the people of the county.

Fáilte Ireland, the National Tourism Development Authority provides strategic and practical support to develop and sustain Ireland as a high - quality and competitive tourist destination.

Fáilte Ireland works in strategic partnership with tourism interests to support the industry in its efforts to be more competitive and more profitable and to help individual enterprises to enhance their performance.