A team of ambassadors from Donegal have been busy in Milwaukee this week representing the county and inviting people with Irish links to come and visit the coolest place on the planet.
The 39th annual Milwaukee Irish Fest – the largest celebration of Irish culture and heritage in the United States – has been taking place in Wisconsin. The four-day festival – which has a huge audience of more than 130,000 visitors – was an ideal opportunity for Tourism Ireland to showcase Donegal and Ireland.
Among the team from Donegal are Deirdre McGlone, Donegal Tour Guide Henry Doohan and Barney McLaughlin and Sarah Nolan, from Donegal County Council.
Deirdre McGlone, Harvey’s Point; Henry Doohan, Donegal tour guide; Billy Condon, Tourism Ireland; Minister Ciarán Cannon; Barney McLaughlin and Sarah Nolan, both Donegal County Council; and Ruth Moran, Tourism Ireland, at the Milwaukee Irish Fest. Photo: Hayley Mac
Ciarán Cannon, Minister of State for the Diaspora and International Development, attended the festival, where he met with the Tourism Ireland team and the delegation of tourism enterprises from around the island of Ireland who attended this year’s festival – including Donegal County Council.
“The Milwaukee Irish Fest provides another really good platform for Tourism Ireland to showcase Donegal and Ireland and the diversity of our heritage and culture to prospective American visitors,” said Alison Metcalfe, Tourism Ireland’s Head of North America.
“It was a wonderful opportunity to invite some of the many people of Irish descent living and working in the US, as well as those with Irish connections or an affinity for Ireland, to come and visit.”
“Tourism Ireland has prioritised North America as a market which offers a strong return on investment, in terms of holiday visitors and expenditure. The most recent CSO figures, for January-June, indicate growth of +9.1% in arrivals from North America. Tourism Ireland is rolling out an extensive and targeted programme of promotions throughout 2019, to continue to grow visitor numbers from North America.”
