Ballymoe-US Tourism initiative could benefit other areas of Co Galway

By TOM GILMORE SIMILAR to the way that Cong has exploited its links with 'The Quiet Man' film, the people of Ballymoe have ambitious plans to develop its association with Boystown in the USA into a tourist destination that could attract American visitors to the village and to other areas of North Galway, West Roscommon and Mayo. According to those involved in the initiative there has already been an enthusiastic response to their project in Boystown, Nebraska which became the adopted home of Ballymoe missionary priest, Fr Edward J Flanagan. Ballymoe and Boystown are inextricably linked because of the great work done by the village's most famous emigrant, Fr Flanagan, who founded Boystown, now known as Boys and Girls Town, in Nebraska in 1917. His aim was to help problem teenagers readjust. Fr Flanagan's case for canonisation is currently being considered by the Vatican after he was deemed by the Church as Blessed last March and the current process of examination of his life could result in him becoming a saint within five to ten years which will all help a visitor centre being planned in his honour in his home village. Triangle of sites Long before the 'The Quiet Man' hit the cinema screens in 1952 Fr Flanagan was immortalised in a1938 Hollywood film which starred Mickey Rooney who visited Ballymoe in 2007. Now the Ballymoe Development Association have been in talks with interested parties in Nebraska, and with tourism chiefs here, to make it into a triangle of sites with religious links that could attract more US tourist to the West.[private] The ambitious plan could see Ballymoe linked with Knock and the monastic ruins in Clonmacnoise as a triangular tourist destination that would attract American visitors and tourists from other countries according to John Martin Griffin, Secretary of the Ballymoe Development Association. 'North Galway and West Roscommon has never been on the tourist trail to the same extent as areas such as Connemara or Clare but every small rural village and town has something that a tourism attraction can be built around and we have Fr Flanagan,' says John Martin. But he says that it has to be a community effort, and not just that of individuals, in every rural community to make such a project work and the Ballymoe Association want the help of volunteers in the area to bring their plans to fruition. 'It is not just Ballymoe that will benefit from this but many of the other small towns and villages around the region. 'Even if the tourists don't stay in accommodation in these areas there is still the benefit of passing business for everybody. Unlike parts of America and France where small towns have been left to die, we can't allow that to happen in rural Ireland,' he added. 'We all need to be proactive in getting involved in community initiatives as it would be shocking if the Ballymoes or the Milltowns of this country were allowed to decay and die. 'That is why we want volunteers in Ballymoe and Ballintubber to get involved, even for short shifts, in developing our flagship project around the story of Fr Flanagan, Boystown and other local project,' says John Martin. Earlier this year members of the Ballymoe committee met the US chairman of the Fr Flanagan League, Steve Wolfe as well as with Tom Lynch, Director of the Hall of History in Boys Town and they all agree that the tourism potential for the project is considerable. 'The Boystown delegation came to Ballymoe in April and we have had some discussions with Tourism Ireland with a view to having Ballymoe as one part of a tourism destination package for the West. Business plan in October 'Our aim is to have the business plan finalised by October of this year and we hope to apply for funding through the Leader programme which is administrated in this area via Galway Rural Development in Athenry,' says John Martin. The aim is to have a visitor centre and restaurant located in Ballymoe Community Centre where there would be an audio visual presentation on Fr Flanagan's life and achievements. 'This could appeal to bus school tours as well as coach tours from the USA, the continent and elsewhere in Ireland and might be past of a package trip to the West for such groups. 'It should all fit in with the current destinations strategy of the Irish Tourist board and the bottom line is to create more jobs in rural areas,' says John Martin. He added that they have seen how successfully this has been in done at the Foxford Woollen Mills and at Kilfenora in Clare where the Burren Interpretative Centre is now located. 'We noted that a lot of people are working there and this all came about because they were able to harness the area's tourist potential,' he added. Veteran Hollywood actor Mickey Rooney, now in his 90s, attracted a lot of media attention when he visited Ballymoe in 2007 on the 90th anniversary of Fr Flanagan founding the first Boys Town home in the US. The actor was so impressed with the work of Fr Flanagan when he starred in the movie in 1938 that he has remained an admirer of the Ballymoe priest's work ever since. A museum relating to the work of Fr Flanagan would become a focal point for visitors and it would be part of the interpretive centre in Ballymoe Community Centre, according to the new plans. Fr Flanagan was born on July 13, 1886, in Leabeg, near Ballymoe. He was the eighth in a family of eleven children. His parents were hard-working farmers, intelligent and very devoted to their religion. He attended school in Drimatemple and entered Summerhill College, Sligo in 1900. In 1904, Flanagan graduated from Summerhill with honours and sailed for the United States. He wanted to become a priest but due to poor health it was not until returning to Europe and to Austria some years later that he could continue his studies. He was ordained with the Jesuits at Innsbruck in 1912. He returned to Omaha that year and seeing the huge numbers who were unemployed and living rough in the streets there, Fr Flanagan opened the Workingmen's Hotel where men could find shelter, a bed for the night and food. He helped many to obtain employment and in 1917 he borrowed $90 to pay the first month's rent on a building to house homeless and abandoned boys. There he gave them the care, training, and education which he felt would save them from becoming misfits and criminals. 19 sites across USA The number of people he helped grew quickly and today the Girls and Boys Town organisation has 19 sites across the US from New York to San Francisco. Approximately 30,000 young people benefit directly from the work of the organisation today while its outreach programmes impact on a further one million teenagers in the USA. Apart from the plans to raise the profile of the village where Fr Flanagan was born Ballymoe will also be one of the locations for an Open Fair where local service providers and small manufactures and producers, but not retailers, can display and sell their goods on Sunday August 26. This is in association with the Clare-based organisation Rural Resettlement Ireland. Anyone wishing to get involved with the Ballymoe tourism initiative can contact John Martin Griffin at Ballymoe Community Centre 094 9655369 or 087 9295842.[/private]