Ministers Donohoe & Ring announce Initial Funding for ‘Ireland’s Ancient East’ including €522,000 for projects in the South East
9th September 2015
The Minister for Tourism, Transport and Sport, Paschal Donohoe TD, along with Minister of State for Tourism, Michael Ring TD, today announced €1.2m in funding for capital projects in Ireland’s Ancient East along with an additional €600k for the first stage of branded signage.
The €1.2m Capital funding is the first phase of investment through Fáilte Ireland’s ‘New ideas in Ancient Spaces’ Capital Grants Scheme and is for an initial 12 projects within the Ireland’s Ancient East initiative four of which are in the South East.
This first phase of funding under the ‘New ideas in Ancient Spaces’ Capital Grants Scheme follows a Fáilte Ireland call for applications from interested parties across the region. Fáilte Ireland is currently assessing a number of further applications from that call and will be announcing another round of funding before the end of the year.
Launched last April, Ireland’s Ancient East is Fáilte Ireland’s latest tourism initiative and seeks to build on the wealth of historical and cultural assets in the east and south of Ireland. The new initiative seeks to give visitors a personal experience of 5000 years of Irish history through a journey of discovery stretching from Carlingford to Cork and is intended to match and complement the Wild Atlantic Way in terms of scale and ambition.
Commenting on the first phase of capital funding for the initiative, Minister Donohoe today said:
“This funding is just the first phase in a programme to animate the great amount of history and heritage in ‘Ireland’s Ancient East’ and allow us to build on the tourism assets we have in the east and south of the country. With tourism businesses already mobilising behind the new initiative, I believe that Ireland’s Ancient East will prove as effective and popular as the Wild Atlantic Way and will ultimately deliver significant additional numbers of visitors, revenue and jobs to the region."
Minister of State for Tourism, Michael Ring TD, said:
“Ensuring that we continue to position Ireland in a way that allows us to compete with other countries and attract overseas visitors is crucial. So far this year we have seen more tourists coming to Ireland than ever before, helping to create jobs and support the economy. We must make sure that continues. Tourism offerings such as the Wild Atlantic Way in the west of Ireland have really sparked the public imagination. I have no doubt that Ireland’s Ancient East, with the potential to deliver an additional 600,000 overseas visitors to the region and increase visitor revenue by almost 25% by 2020, will do the same."
Recipients of the €522,000 in capital funding in the South East in the first phase of the ‘New ideas in Ancient Spaces’ Capital Grants Scheme are:
• Tholsel Visitor Centre, Fethard, County Tipperary (€198k)
• Hook Lighthouse Guided Tour Experience, County Wexford (€80k)
• Dunleckney Maltings, Carlow (€200k)
• Ancient Stones, Untold Stories – St Canice’s Cathedral & Round Tower Interpretation Project, Kilkenny (€80k)
Further details of these projects are outlined below.
Fáilte Ireland CEO Shaun Quinn today emphasised:
“Fáilte Ireland is working directly with businesses and communities on the ground to bring this new experience brand alive. During the assessment phase for this capital funding, we were incredibly impressed by the enthusiasm and high quality of ideas within the proposals that we received. Today’s funding is just the first phase in capital supports to improve and augment the great variety of attractions already in the region and we will be in a position to announce further grants in the near future.
“As an initiative firmly rooted in our past and our stories, it is vital that we bring these stories alive to take full advantage of the opportunities provided by Ireland’s Ancient East. Today’s funding will help us towards that goal and, by the year’s end, we will have helped to prime projects in every county within Ireland’s ancient East.”
Mr Quinn pointed out that Ireland’s Ancient East was an evolving initiative with much work to do. Fáilte Ireland is working with businesses and communities in the region to bring the proposition to life and to animate the stories of their locality. Mr Quinn added that, as part of the work to create a unified ‘look’ for the new initiative, €600k was now being allocated for the first phase of a signage and interpretation programme to bring all the diverse elements of Ireland’s Ancient East under the new experience brand.
Mr Quinn added that Fáilte Ireland was also working with tourism businesses to help them actively sell the new proposition to potential customers and tourism trade overseas. Indeed, this week, Minister Donohoe is with Tourism Ireland promoting the new proposition to overseas buyers in North America.
Tholsel Visitor Centre, Fethard, County Tipperary
The Tholsel Visitor Centre project seeks to create a distinctive, interactive and compelling resource and platform to promote Fethard in county Tipperary as a significant visitor destination. Fethard has an unrivalled heritage resource in the Tholsel, Holy Trinity Church and Augustinian Abbey. Its town walls are considered the most perfect surviving example in Ireland and are therefore a unique attraction.
Following earlier works, this application will support phase two of the development of the Tholsel, in the construction and associated works in preparing the building for transformation into a state of the art visitor centre.
On completion, the Tholsel will house an interactive exhibition focused on Medieval Fethard, its place at the centre of Ireland's horse country and the story of Coolmore Stud. This project will marry the story of Fethard with other attractions of Ireland's Ancient East particularly in places like Kilkenny, Cashel and Carrick on Suir. With other members of Irish Walled Town Network in Ireland's Ancient East, namely; Youghal, Waterford, New Ross, Wexford, Clonmel, Castledermot, Athy, Trim and Drogheda. Notwithstanding the equine heritage of Fethard spreads out into county Tipperary and links effortlessly with experiences in county Kildare.
Hook Lighthouse Guided Tour Experience, County Wexford
Hook Lighthouse is the oldest operational lighthouse in the world and offers a completely unique experience and opportunity to discover 800 years of lighthouse keeping. The development of a new "Watchtower Experience" within the existing site at Hook Lighthouse will bring to life the characters and stories of Hook Lighthouse, the shipwrecks and sea stories, all a testament of the 800 years of lighthouse keeping at this iconic site. The modern watchtower structure provides panoramic vistas of the seascape and with supporting sound and video interpretation, the modern lighthouse keeper and that of his wife’s story will be told.
Enhancement to the existing guided tour in the medieval lighthouse is proposed through improved interpretation with new storyboards, information panels, holograms and lighting. Investment in the welcome signage is proposed along with indoor and outdoor interpretation panels on the visitor centre site will share the stories of Ireland’s Ancient East sites associated with the medieval monks, William Marshal’s Leinster and the Great Lighthouses of Ireland trail. Upgrading of the multi-lingual brochure is included.
Dunleckney Maltings, County Carlow
The development of a new visitor experience is proposed by providing a unique opportunity to learn about the brewing and distilling heritage in a building that has been integrally linked to the Irish brewing sector for over 200 years. Located on the outskirts of Bagenalstown in county Carlow, the restoration of the former brewery and maltings at Dunleckney and its development into a world class visitor experience is proposed, in association with the locally based Carlow Brewing Company, a leading Irish craft brewery.
The restored brewery will offer guided tours and along with multi-lingual storyboards and leaflets, share the unique story of Carlow Brewing, the brewing heritage of the area, provide opportunities to meet the producers, to taste the beers and participate in demonstrations.
Ancient Stones, Untold Stories – St Canice’s Cathedral & Round Tower Interpretation Project, Kilkenny City
Much of St. Canice's significance lies in the continual use of the site as a place of ecclesiastical worship and residence from early Christian times down to the present day. The project proposes to enhance the interpretation of St Canice’s Cathedral and Round Tower, through simple yet effective techniques which will enhance the serenity of the site, allowing for self-discovery for visitors to enjoy and explore the Cathedral itself, its setting and associated buildings and features and the wider context of this part of Kilkenny.
The interpretation enhancements proposed include the provision of guided tours, the use of re-enactments, virtual tours and augmented reality along with interpretative installations. Multi-lingual interpretation will be available throughout.
