merrion street

Mr. Brian Hayes, TD, Minister of State with special responsibility for the Office of Public Works (OPW) today (16 July 2013) officially handed over the keys of the Rocket House, Baltimore to the local Tidy Town Committee for community use.

The Minister said, “It is my pleasure to be here today to hand over the keys of this historic building to the local Tidy Towns group. I’m delighted that they have taken the initiative to restore the building and incorporate it into the town’s attractions. I applaud their initiative and would encourage others to follow suit. In the current climate it certainly behoves the State to facilitate and assist, where possible, those entrepreneurs who can foster and create tourism opportunities. It is also part of the wider policy of the OPW of using State property where possible and giving local communities the opportunity to put these properties to good use”.

The Minister concluded, “I wish Bébhinn Marten of the Baltimore Tidy Town Committee and Tom Bush of the Baltimore Heritage Trust and all their colleagues every success with this enterprising venture.”

Note to Editors:

The Baltimore Rocket House is a late-Victorian building, which in the past functioned as a rescue centre. It was used to store rockets and a cart to convey them to the scene of a maritime disaster, where they would be launched towards a stricken ship with a line attached and used to rescue people via a breeches bouy carried by the line.

Members of the Tidy Towns Committee and the local Heritage Group (who restored one of the rocket carts) will be in attendance for the handover by Minister Hayes.