Wednesday, June 09, 2010
TWO major museums have launched a link to make them more accessible to visitors.
The Hunt Museum in Limerick and the Foynes Flying Boat Museum will now be connected by a dedicated bus service.
The Hunt Museum, which opened in 1989, and the Foynes museum, which opened in 1989, attract in excess of 30,000 visitors a year.
Entry to the two museums costs €17. The fee includes the cost of the 50-mile round trip between Limerick Tourist Office and Foynes.
Margaret O’Shaughnessy, director of the Foynes Flying Boat Museum, which features a full size replica of the fuselage of a Yankee Clipper, said: "The public bus service is limited and a person would have to spend a long part of the day in Foynes, if they had to depend on this. The dedicated 24-seater bus will also travel on to Mountrenchard where visitors will be able to take in panoramic views of the Shannon Estuary." The service will operate in June, July and August.
Ms O’Shaughnessy said they were also looking at opening up a steam engine train service between Limerick and Foynes.
"I was at a huge tourism fair in the UK recently and was amazed how big steam train tourism is. We have the railway line in place." Harbour Air are hoping to open a flying boat service between Limerick and Foynes later this summer.
Dr Hugh Maguire, director of the Hunt Museum, said: "This new bus link is a recognition of our tourism product in the city and county which have such a lot to offer."
TD John Cregan, who attended yesterday’s launch, said the Department of Arts Sport and Tourism had given funding of €15,000 to get the museum bus link up and running.
The bus departs from the Limerick tourism office at midday, leaving Foynes again at 3pm.
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