Monaghan County Council has agreed to initiate a feasibility study into Lough Muckno in partnership with Failte Ireland.
It's anticipated that a "clear proposal" will come from this within 12 months.
Councillors were presented with three options for Lough Muckno.
The first was to put the Castle, annex, and two to four acres of land on the market.
The second was a "Friends of Muckno" proposal for an adventure and education centre within a restored annex and castle.
However, this would require a seven million euro investment and no business model had been proposed.
The third option, to initiate a feasibility study in partnership with Failte Ireland at a cost of €150,000, was the recommended choice by the Executive.
Aoife McCooey proposed this option, which was seconded by Colm Carthy.
She said it will allow members to know "what is within the capacity of Monaghan County Council".
Councillor Noel Keelan said it's a "very acrimonious issue" and added that "a lot of things in the past were not done in an open and transparent manner".
He passed a motion calling for a series of in-person information days to allow for the widest possible consultation.
Director of Enterprise and Tourism, Paul Clifford, said the feasibility study, which will take around 12 months, will "explore all options and set limits of what can be done".
He said it will "come up with a plan and costings" and at that point, the Council can "accept, decline, or amend it".
Meanwhile, Paudge Connelly said it was time to "get the professionals in", adding that the €150,000 cost of the study "is a drop in the ocean in terms of overall spending".
Raymond Aughey added that councillors will "have a clear proposal for us in 12 months' time" and that the feasibility study puts the Council "on the right path".
