An outline plan and fundraising campaign will be launched on 4 July in Kilfenora Hall (6-9pm) to purchase and re-open Linnanes pub and run it as a not-for-profit community enterprise. The plan also includes using the sizeable field off Kilfenora Square that comes with the property for a variety of possible purposes. Here are the key elements of the plan.
- Offering regular music sessions, helping to preserve Kilfenora’s historic tradition, as well as workshops and small concerts
- Acting as a social hub
- Using the field as a community garden, leisure area and space for events
- Potentially housing the kindergarten, in a building adjacent to the pub
- Small-scale catering and food offerings, to complement Vaughans and the Burren Visitor Centre
A core purpose is to provide the kind of traditional Irish pub experience that has started to diminish in recent times, with so many disappearing or having to re-purpose. Much support is expected from musicians, with the emphasis on providing an environment for playing together rather than having to ‘entertain’.
The sum the project team hope to raise is €500,000 in order to purchase and re-develop the property. A GoFundMe page has been set up and this can be accessed at the project’s website – go to https://kilfenoracorner.com/support-us/ (Funds are returnable for up to a year after they have been donated – see GoFundMe’s terms.)
The project team members are musicians Sonja O’Brien (former co-owner of the Boghill Centre) and Aoife Kelly (who launched the Sounds of Kilfenora project at Kilfenora Festival), together with Sue Targett, Gerard Linnane, Cara O’Donoghue, John Morgan, Orla Vaughan and Daithi O’Reilly.
More details can be found at https://kilfenoracorner.com/
