Plans have been unveiled for a new museum on Valentia Island.
Valentia Island Development Company CLG is applying for permission to restore a building once reportedly used to host the end-point of the very first successful transatlantic cable.
According to planning files, the plans include a museum with a tourist information office.
The proposed development is located at the Slate Yard in Farranreagh, Knightstown, on Valentia Island, on a site acquired by the local community in 2021.
The company is seeking permission for a careful restoration of the First Message Building, a protected structure, for a museum and community use.
According to reports submitted with the planning application, this building itself was occupied by the Atlantic Telegraph Company for around 14 months between 1857 and 1858, including the 19 days during which the very first transatlantic cable successfully connected Europe and North America.
It’s also seeking permission to repair to other derelict Slate Yard buildings, including another protected structure, which the report says were originally constructed to process raw slate blocks but have not been used for this function since the late nineteenth century.
It’s also proposed to construct a new gateway/discovery building for tourists, reinstate the former historic chimney on site, and connect the slate yard to the promenade by a ramp.
The application says the site is currently disused with historic buildings in a roofless state and overgrown with vegetation, generally used for storage.
It claims any negative impact of the new development has been heavily mitigated by its thorough design process and research.
Kerry County Council is due to decide on the application by 14th January.
