A PRIVATE members' club received a £1.35m Belfast City Council grant as part of the development of a major visitor attraction in west Belfast.
But a company formed as part of the development of the near completed Roddy McCorley Republican Heritage Centre on the Glen Road, a significant extension to an existing building, was voluntarily dissolved several months ago.
The Roddy McCorley Historical Society Ltd was established in November 2017, two months before planning permission to extend and alter Moyard House was applied for.
Planning permission, applied for by the Roddy McCorley Historical Society, was granted in June 2018.
The Roddy McCorley Society, a private members' club, received the £1.35m grant. It also operates as a private club under the Roddy McCorley Historical Society name. The society was established 50 years ago with one-time IRA chief of staff Seamus Twomey as its first chairman.
In a statement, the Roddy McCorley Society said it has received funding from a range of public bodies to develop the new centre.
The society "operates as a private members club with VAT registration"," it said.
"We own and operate all aspects of the new heritage centre and manage relationships with key stakeholders including our public sector partners.
"The Roddy McCorley Historical Society Ltd was a company established by our society and soon dissolved as it served no purpose as our current governance arrangements where and are indeed fit for purpose.
"All funding arrangements in place are with The Roddy McCorley Society."
The major new visitor attraction includes a museum, 104-seater restaurant, bar, entertainment space, outdoor terraced areas, women’s commemorative garden and heritage trail.
Over several decades, the society has amassed a large selection of items related to the most recent conflict, many of them linked to the Provisional IRA. They were previously displayed in rooms inside Moyard House.
The items include decorative shoes Libyan dictator Muammar Ghadaffy reportedly gifted to IRA leader Joe Cahill and many items from Long Kesh/Maze.
A badly damaged Army issue rifle found close to the site of the 1979 Narrow Water, Warrenpoint, IRA ambush that killed 18 soldiers was among the items acquired by the society. It was seized by the PSNI.
Centre director David McGivern told Belfast Media: “There will be wall signage with titles and subtitles telling you what the era is with artefacts in each section.
“The section will start off with 1798 and Roddy McCorley, then there will be a section on 1916, but the main thrust of the remaining ten sections will be of the most recent phase of Irish struggle. We wanted to be reflective of our local community and reflective of our most recent history.”
Management is seeking to hire 23 to 25 additional staff to add to the current eight, Mr McGivern said.
In a statement, Belfast City Council said dedicated project officers are monitoring progress of delivery with regular reporting on project status and progress, all to be presented to a council committee.
