The Athenaeum Hall on Castle St., Enniscorthy, is set to inherit the 1798 Rebellion Centre collection at the end of summer.

There has been unrest among some historical buffs, surprisingly many of them from outside of the town and district, at Wexford County Council’s approval to close the 1798 Rebellion Centre at Enniscorthy at the end of the summer and conclude the sale of the premises for future use as a distillery/visitor centre.
WexfordToday.com has learned that the proposed sale of the centre was discussed at a meeting of Enniscorthy Municipal District Council a year ago, and the decision was approved at a Board meeting of the National 1798 Historical Centre Company Ltd on March 27th 2017.
At the April meeting of Enniscorthy Municipal District Council, District Manager, Liz Hore, distributed a memo to the chairman, members and the press, stating that the new private economic tourism project that will be housed at the 1798 Centre will enhance the tourism offering of Enniscorthy town and will assist the expansion of the food tourism strategy trails.
It is understood that the District Manager is working with the Enniscorthy Castle team to relocate the 1798 Exhibit.
“A very positive meeting was held with the Athenaeum who are in agreement to support the hosting of the exhibit at their tourism facility,” said Ms Hore, who added: “It is envisaged that the 1798 and 1916 exhibits will complement each other as part of the tourism and heritage offering of the town with both historic events based on the ideals of democracy, equality, and self-determination.”
The next phase of the relocation process will include a review of the 1798 exhibit and map within the Athenaeum floor plan; develop a service level agreement between the 1798 company and the trustees of the Athenaeum; and develop a new tourism business plan for the 1798 Exhibit that will likely include an integrated ticket with the castle offering as part of the heritage trail.
It is envisaged that the 1798 Centre relocation will occur at the end of the tourism operating season.