Oscar winner Richard to help with heritage centre

DOUBLE Oscar winner and Tallaght native Richard Baneham is “happy to be associated with” and to help with the development of the proposed Tallaght Heritage Centre.

This is according to South Dublin County Council, who provided an update on the progression of the long-awaited centre at a council meeting on Monday.

The proposed development will be adjacent to the Civic Theatre and will feature artefacts and interpretive exhibitions exploring the history of Tallaght.

Jason Frehill, South Dublin County Council’s director of economic, enterprise and tourism development revealed that Richard Baneham is going to be involved in the project.

Mr Baneham, who has won Oscars for his animation work in the ‘Avatar’ film franchise, is a past pupil of Old Bawn Community School and went on to study animation in Ballyfermot College.

Speaking at the council meeting, Mr Frehill said: “We’re very fortunate that, in Tallaght, we’ve got a double Oscar winner from Tallaght in Richard Baneham.

“Richard Baneham is happy to be associated with this and to help us as part of the development of this.

“We just need to work through what that’s going to look like, but we feel that it’s a very, very unique opportunity, particularly given Richard’s skills in animation and so forth and what he’s doing in the area.

“I think that what we’re trying to do here is create a legacy for the next generation of people coming through, particularly from an arts and culture perspective, and there’s no better person to inspire the next generation.”

Mr Frehill also thanked outgoing council chief executive Danny McLoughlin for his assistance with the project and for establishing the link with Mr Baneham.

The proposed heritage centre project was widely praised by Tallaght councillors, with Fianna Fáil councillor Teresa Costello being particularly enthusiastic about what it could mean for the area.

“I think this is going to be a game-changer for Tallaght,” she said at the meeting.

“A lot of people, and the younger generation, don’t understand the history and the heritage of where they’re from.

“How do you expect them to throw their chests out and have pride in where they’re from unless they know where they’re from.

“This heritage centre is going to provide the future generation with a huge amount of pride in Tallaght.”

According to the update provided at the meeting, there will be a Part 8 public consultation on the project next July, followed by the Part 8 being presented to councillors at a meeting in September.

The council then hopes to commence the detailed design stage of the centre in the final quarter of this year, with plans for construction to commence at the beginning of 2024.

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