A ‘Sam Maguire Centre' for Dunmanway to be explored

A NEW initiative is underway to make Dunmanway a destination for day visitors. Cork County Council is funding the initiative through the employment of a student from the Cork Institute of Technology (CIT).

Over a four-month period, John Power, a third-year marketing student from CIT, will be doing his internship in Dunmanway by working on a comprehensive marketing plan for the town.

As part of his brief, John will be researching how best to promote Dunmanway and attract visitors from the Wild Atlantic Way to come and visit the home of Sam Maguire this summer.

It is the latest development by a local group who successfully completed and oversaw the installation of the Sam Maguire Community Bells in St Mary’s Church – a project that links the history of the town with the GAA and Sam Maguire.

Over the next four months, John will explore the possibility of developing social media platforms and a digital audio tour of the town.

He will also work on identifying local attractions and the creation of a brochure of places to visit that could be distributed through B&Bs, hotels and tourist offices along the Wild Atlantic Way.

The possibility of creating a dedicated Sam Maguire Visitor Centre will also be considered, as well as a location for a new tourist information centre for the town.

Anyone with ideas or suggestions can contact John directly on 085 7855087 or email him at [email protected].

Rev Cliff Jeffers said the initiative has plenty of potential given Dunmanway’s rich heritage from its days as ‘a centre for growing flax and making linen, as well as a bustling market town where cattle were traded on the streets.’

It is expected that a lot of visitors – historians, school tours and the like – will be drawn to Dunmanway as the hometown of Sam Maguire.

The Irish republican and Gaelic footballer – who lent his name to the GAA’s most prized silverware – was born a few miles north of the town, attended Dunmanway Model School, and is buried in St Mary’s Church of Ireland graveyard.  

Rev Jeffers said: ‘We want to tell the story of the man behind the cup and encourage people to come to visit Dunmanway, his hometown.’