History of the Model Village

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Members of the West Cork Heritage Group proposed the idea of the Model Village back in 1985. The leading lights were Mr. William Houlihan (Architect), Mr. Dan O’Donovan and the late Mr. James Blewitt.

A grant of £375,000 was secured from the E.U. structural fund on the conditional that a future £125,000 was raised locally. The site was provided by the U.D.C. (Urban District Council).

The main of the project was to provide a significant educational and visual interest to both the local and tourist alike and to bring a much-needed employment scheme to Clonakilty.

A dedicated talented group of workers set to work to make the Model Village what it is today. Development was carried out in stages, the first town completed was Clonakilty and the Model Village was officially opened in 1994 by the then President Mary Robinson.

Since then the towns of Bandon, Kinsale and Dunmanway have been added and the Model Village has attracted thousands of visitors from all over the world.

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