Tipperary council secures €250,000 grant to create public gardens at Clonmel's Suir Island

Tipperary County Council has secured €250,000 funding to transform part of Clonmel’s Suir Island into public amenity gardens.
News of the funding allocation from the Department of Health’s Healthy Community Projects Scheme was revealed on the day Minister for Rural & Community Development Heather Humphreys unveiled a plaque to mark the completion of the first renovation works on the island that was once the industrial heart of Clonmel as home to several thriving mills. Clonmel Borough District Administrator, Jim Dillon, said Tipperary County Council will provide matching funding of €250,000 for the gardens project that is part of an overall masterplan to bring Suir Island back to life.
The council recently completed a public consultation process in relation to the route options for two pedestrian/cycle bridges linking Suir Island with the town centre, Raheen Road and Denis Burke Park.
Mr Dillon said a planning application for the Suir Island gardens and bridge projects will be submitted to An Bord Pleanála within the next two months.
He pointed out that if the bridges take a long time to progress through the planning process, the council may “decouple” the Suir Island gardens project from the planning application and resubmit it as a stand alone application in order to deliver the gardens faster.
The plaque Minister Humphreys unveiled at Suir Island last Wednesday marks the completion of the first stage of renovations on the derelict Suir Island house and repointing and repairs carried out on mill race walls around the house.
The plan is to re-water the island’s mill races and turn Suir Island House into a store for kayaks and boats. The house is situated next to Clonmel’s kayaking slalom course and it’s planned to use the re-watered mill races as a kayak launch point for children and beginners
Suir Island house, built in the 18th century, was in danger of collapsing prior to the renovation works that involved repairing the walls and making the structure safe to enter.
Mr Dillon told the Minister the projects planned under the Suir Island Masterplan were “very exciting” and if realised will really revitalise this part of Clonmel. He pointed to the kayaking slalom that secured funding in 2015 and was now widely used.
Minister Humphreys congratulated the county council on its plans to transform Suir Island, which she agreed sounded very exciting. “I think this is a very interesting project and a bit different,” she said.
She highlighted how the Suir Island renovations were among a series of Tipperary projects she was visiting that day as they had received €7m funding from her Department.
The Minister said Tipperary has secured a good share of rural regeneration funding, almost €20m, but pointed out the investment of this money couldn’t be done without the input of local authorities.
She acknowledged some funding applications submitted by councils weren’t successful but encouraged local authorities to apply again as “good projects will always get the money”.
County council vice-chairperson Cllr Siobhán Ambrose said it was great the Minister had come to Suir Island to see where funding from her department was spent. Cllr Ambrose said the council looked forward to further investment from the Department of Rural & Community Affairs in the future.
Senator Garret Ahearn pointed out to Minister Humphreys that Clonmel was by far the biggest town in county Tipperary and allocating funding to the town would have a knock on beneficial effect for other communities in the county