€2 million Bulmers visitor centre in Tipperary moves a step closer

The €2 million Bulmers visitor centre planned for Clonmel has taken a major step forward with the news that a design team is now being sought for the development of the centre at Dowd’s Lane.

Tipperary County Council has joined forces with Bulmers in the planning of the project.

A design team with “experience in the development of creative spaces such as museums, cultural centres and other visitor attractions” has been requested to submit a tender. 

“The product has to be iconic, ambitious, interactive and most of all it has to attract visitors to the town.

“The site is centrally located in Clonmel town and will be home to a new world- class visitor experience”, a county council spokesperson has stated.

It’s hoped that it will open in late 2020 or early 2021.

The design team will be responsible for the development of the  centre from conception to handover.

The closing date for the submission of applications is February 5.

The centre will be an integral part of the Flights of Discovery tourism product being prepared for Clonmel, which also includes an interpretative centre at the West Gate; and the Tipperary Museum of Hidden History, which was redeveloped at a cost of €500,000 and officially opened in October.

The announcement that the project has now gone to the design stage has been welcomed by Michael Murphy, Cathaoirleach of Tipperary County Council, who predicts that it will be  “a game changer” for the town centre.

He praised Bulmers operations director Pat Morrissey and general manager Alan Roche, as well as the county council staff,  for the roles they had played to get the centre up and running. 

As a former employee of the company, Cllr. Murphy thanked Bulmers for its contribution to Clonmel’s economy since 1935.

Bulmers general manager Alan Roche stated earlier this year that the company was committed to Clonmel and the project.

“The company is embedded in the local community”, he said.

The development will transform Dowd’s Lane, a site that’s steeped in the rich history of cider-making in Clonmel.

Commercial cider production was started in Clonmel in 1935 by William Magner, when he established a successful cider brewery on the site of Thomas Murphy’s brewery in Dowd’s Lane. 

Within 11 years English cider makers Bulmers had purchased the business. 

The company remained at Dowd’s Lane until the early 1960s, when it moved to its current Annerville site outside the town, although Dowd’s Lane remained in use until 2008-09, when it was wound down.

Today Bulmers has a permanent workforce of 165 employees, which rises to 220-230 during the peak summer season. 

The company indirectly supports another 200-250 jobs. 

Bulmers exports its products to 80 countries around the world.

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