Hundreds of people flock to opening of Naas Plaza area of Naas Shopping Centre

The long derelict Naas Shopping Centre opened last weekend with a free music festival, organised by the Féile Nás na Ríogh committee, on South Main Street, on Sunday.

The centre, now known as Naas Plaza, will remain open to the public with seating provided. It was originally due to open at the end of 2009.

The section opened up is the courtyard-style entrance adjacent to the Bank of Ireland premises.

According to Ger Roche of the Roche Group, which owns the premises and the 300,000 square feet of retail space, several local businesses have expressed interest in opening up at the centre.

He says the courtyard will open daily from now on at 6.30am until midnight.

However, he said efforts are still underway to secure an anchor tenant which would occupy a substantial part, at least, of the floor space.

The first business to open there, he added, will be a delicatessen enterprise which will sell food and drink, similar to many service station retail operations, every day from 7am to 7-8pm.

He also said talks are taking place with the HSE, which he said, is exploring the possibility of opening medical care facilities similar to those in place at the Vista Primary Care centre at the nearby Ballymore Road, also owned by the Roche Group.

Meanwhile the musical festival will feature performances from local, county and countrywide musical groups along with choral and dance performances.

The organisers promise “entertainment for all the family and your children will have plenty of fun activities.”

There were also performances at the taxi rank and the farmer market area with pop up stalls and street vendors and an opportunity to do some céilí dancing on the street.

The entertainment also included a DJ for four hours, face painting, balloon twisting, juggling and Disney character entertainers throughout the afternoon.

The entertainers included Naas Hospital Choir, Ballymore Eustace Band, Sonas & Siamsa entertainers, Ross D, The Raspberries, The Druids, and After Dark.