News

Take your pick from great St Patrick’s Day celebrations around Ireland   On St Patrick’s Day all the major cities on the island of Ireland stage fantastic festivals. So why not avoid the Dublin crowds and seek one out this 17 March.   This year St Patrick’s Day falls on a Sunday, so Monday 18 March 2024 will be a public holiday. Lucky...

Fáilte Ireland, the National Tourism Development Authority, unveiled its brand new €6million domestic and Northern Ireland marketing campaign entitled ‘Keep Discovering’ to help grow domestic holidays in Ireland. According to Fáilte Ireland’s CEO Paul Kelly, only just over half (56%) of Irish people currently take a break in Ireland. “By putting ‘discovery’ at the heart of our new campaign we hope...

Minister O’Donovan announces free admission to OPW visitor sites in support of the Government’s recovery and reopening plan. Mr. Patrick O’ Donovan T.D., Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works (OPW), today announced that admission charges to all fee-paying open OPW heritage sites are being waived in line with the Government’s recovery and reopening plan outlined...

‘Jurassic Newpark’ will feature an interactive walk-through experience with life-sized (robotic) dinosaurs that move and roar. Breaking!  A real-life Jurassic Park is coming to Kilkenny!  Dinosaurs will once again roam the land as the creative team at the 4-star Newpark Hotel, which is located on 25 acres of parkland and known as one of Ireland’s top family break destinations, is...

Cliff divers set to soar feet first at Ireland’s Downpatrick Head The Irish leg of the 2021 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series awaits the cliff diving elite with rugged conditions in a brand-new location on September 11. Written by Katrin Strobl c/o RED BULL IRELAND Halfway into the season, the world’s best cliff divers – including the reigning champions Rhiannan Iffland from Australia and...

Everybody knows a pint of Guinness always tastes better in Ireland – but beyond the famous black stuff there is so much more to explore for this year’s International Beer Day The global celebration of beer on 5 August is the perfect excuse to go on a beer journey around the array of mainstream breweries, microbreweries and brewpubs dotted across...

Our Rural Future: Minister Humphreys announces €15.5 million in funding to develop 84 outdoor adventure projectsFrom Department of Rural and Community Development. -Major investment in our mountain and forest walks, cliffways, beaches, bogs, lakes, rivers, greenways, blueways and bridleways-Focus on developing adventure tourism activities such as hiking, mountaineering, kayaking, swimming and cycling-New strand of funding to support projects at an...

Message from the CEO of Fáilte Ireland: It is fantastic to see tourism and hospitality businesses across the country reopening their doors. Our research shows that when restrictions eased last summer, the economy saw a return of €843 million from domestic holiday spend in Q3 (up 52% on the previous period in 2019). Based on this, an earlier reopening and a...

Minister Catherine Martin publishes a progress report on the Arts and Culture Recovery Taskforce recommendationsFrom Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media The Arts and Culture Recovery Taskforce published a report, ‘Life Worth Living’, in November 2020 which included ten recommendations to assist the recovery of the arts and culture sector post-pandemic.In April 2021 the Minister established an...

A new festival full of incredible adventures in and around the celebrated Irish town of Killarney, County Kerry, is set to get underway this spring. The inaugural Wander Wild Festival, running from 25 – 27 March inclusive, promises a long weekend packed with unique experiences in some of the most amazing natural settings anywhere in the world. Offering an eclectic choice of...