Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Shane Ross has announced that Fáilte Ireland’s Global Irish Festival Series will take place in Limerick and Donegal once again this autumn.
The aim of the Global Irish Festival Series is to encourage Ireland's diaspora to return home to visit Ireland.
The series was launched as a pilot initiative in 2018 and provides funding and support, through the relevant local authorities, for events which tap into international diaspora networks to increase overseas visitors.
Deepening Connections
Ross stated, "It’s great to see the Global Irish Festival Series return this year. The festival series enables local communities to further build upon diaspora networks and deepen connections around the world."
Encouraging "Those Abroad To Return Home"
Meanwhile, Minister of State for Tourism and Sport Brendan Griffin commented, "Following the success of the initiative last year, the Global Irish Festival Series will take place again this year in Limerick and Donegal to encourage those abroad to return home to enjoy these great festivals."
"Creating New Economic Benefits"
Fáilte Ireland’s head of festivals, Ciara Sugrue, added, "The development of tourism festivals is part of Fáilte Ireland’s strategy to encourage domestic and international visitors to visit areas outside of traditional tourism hotspots and outside of peak times to spread the benefits of tourism to communities throughout Ireland. The Global Irish Festival Series aims to motivate diaspora to reconnect by visiting their home county and drive visitors to less visited tourism locations, creating new economic benefits for those local communities. As these events take place in the 'shoulder season', they will also help tourism operators to trade for longer."
Limerick Events
In Limerick, the Global Irish Festival Series will support both the I.NY (Irish in New York) festival, which will run from October 12 until October 20 and explore the connection between Ireland and New York City, and the Richard Harris International Film Festival, which will take place from October 22 until October 28 and celebrate the life and works of the actor from Limerick.
Donegal Connect
In Donegal, the initiative will support Donegal Connect, which will run from September 27 until October 6 and offer an itinerary of food, culture, genealogy classes, and sport, business, education, music and heritage experiences, all of which are intended to entice the Irish diaspora to explore the county.
© 2019 Hospitality Ireland – your source for the latest industry news. Article by Dave Simpson. Click subscribe to sign up for the Hospitality Ireland print edition.
