Minister Michael Ring
The Minister of State for Tourism & Sport, Michael Ring TD, has announced that funding of €43,500 is to be allocated to fifteen regional festivals in Co Donegal by Fáilte Ireland, under its 2016 Festivals and Events Programme.
Announcing the funding, Minister Ring explained the significance of festival funding for tourism “The funding announced today will allow Donegal to broaden its appeal to overseas visitors and attract visitors who actively seeking to fully experience Ireland in all its aspects – from culture and sport, to festivals and fun.
“Festivals and events are the life-blood of tourism and mobilise many visitors to choose to come to Ireland in the first instance. With this funding, we can provide a boost to tourism activity in Donegal which is good news for the local economy and employment.”
The festivals being funded by Fáilte Ireland include:
Transatlantic Connections Conference
€2,000
All Ireland Coastal Rowing Championships
€5,000
Ceol na Coille
€2,500
MacGill Summer School
€2,500
CranaFest
€3,000
Mary from Dungloe
€3,000
Johnny Doherty Music and Dancing Festival
€3,000
Kilcar Fleadh
€2,500
A Taste of Donegal
€8,000
Ballyshannon Folk Festival
€2,500
Cup of Tae Festival
€2,000
Allingham Festival
€1,000
Oideas Gael
€2,000
Ardara Festivals
€2,000
Extreme North Sports Events
€2,500
As well as attracting visitors, festivals are important in terms of generating employment and community engagement. The objective of this Fáilte Ireland funding is to drive growth from key overseas markets through compelling experiences that are attractive to target audiences and generate additional overseas visitors across the country and across the calendar year.
Shaun Quinn, CEO of Fáilte Ireland, stressed the importance of festivals for Ireland and the tourism sector:
“While recent tourism performance from overseas markets has been encouraging, we are determined to build on this momentum to drive and sustain economic growth. Ensuring that Ireland is offering compelling reasons for overseas visitors to choose Ireland, our festivals calendar plays an important role in ensuring that we have a varied and attractive menu of things to see and do for tourists.
“These festivals that we are supporting today will provide the backbone to this year’s tourism event calendar and add to our ability to grow overseas visitors and revenue.”
