Green lights wanted on Laois landmarks for St Patrick's Day

The most famous built landmarks in Laois should be floodlit in green for St Patrick’s Day says a councillor.

Emo Court, the Rock of Dunamase and other Laois sites should be turned green for the national festival to attract tourists says Cllr Mary Sweeney.

She tabled a motion to the January council meeting to ask Laois County Council to follow in the path of the global greening of some 470 landmarks worldwide for St Patrick's Day, including the tallest building in the world in Dubai.

“If they can manage to light up the Burj Khalifa surely we can light up our own historic sites,” she said.

Cllr Sweeney had tabled a similar motion last year and was happy that some buildings were subsequently floodlit here.

“I was delighted to see Laois County Council offices in Portlaoise and Abbeyleix library replicate the Tourism Ireland Global Greening Initiative,” she said.

Timahoe round tower also was turned green last year, lit up by the community after a request by the Department of Heritage and “it looked magnificent” Cllr Sweeney said.

“There is a strong push on to highlight tourism in the county and these are easy wins if we can seek some cooperation from the various state agencies,” she said.

“We need a coordinated approach to get more Laois sites onto the list,” Cllr Sweened added.

Laois County Council replied to her motion to say that it is examining options within the county for the St Patrick’s Weekend and will pursue the matter further.