The history and stories behind Kildare Town Heritage Centre will be brought to life thanks to a €157,000 development grant from Fáilte Ireland.
As part of its wider strategy to boost tourism and revenue across Ireland’s regions, Fáilte Ireland is providing a series of capital grants through the new Storytelling Interpretation Grants Scheme to improve the quality of animation and storytelling at existing attractions throughout Ireland’s Ancient East.
Successful bids, including Kildare Town Heritage Centre, have been recognised for their ability to improve the quality of physical interpretation at their sites through a range of innovative resources including audio guides, video and interactive technology.
Welcoming the funding, Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Brendan Griffin T.D. said:
“Ireland’s Ancient East attracts visitors from across the country and overseas thanks to its rich history and storytelling. Kildare is a key player in Ireland’s Ancient East, with a wealth of experiences, culture and heritage available across the whole county, all year round. Grants like this one for the amazing Kildare Town Heritage Centre will really help to boost the tourism offering here and, in turn, drive even more visitors and revenue into County Kildare.”
Jenny De Saulles, Head of Ireland’s Ancient East at Fáilte Ireland, said:
“Visitors from around the world are increasingly expecting more interactive and hands-on ways to enjoy history and heritage – key components of our Ireland’s Ancient East brand. Development grants, like the one we’ve announced today for Kildare Town Heritage Centre, are vital in ensuring our tourism offering remains strong and competitive.
“One of the key aims of our Ireland’s Ancient East brand is to drive greater regional growth and a longer season for many businesses. At Fáilte Ireland, we will continue to support tourism businesses across the county to develop a world-class experience for visitors from every corner of the globe.”
Tom McCutcheon, Manager, Kildare Town Heritage Centre added:
“Kildare Town Heritage Centre would like to thank Fáilte Ireland for their assistance in improving the tourism experience in Kildare. The grant will be used to develop a new, interactive and immersive offering in the Heritage Centre providing improved access to existing and new tourism markets. This new flagship attraction will bring to life tales of St. Brigid, Na Fianna, ancient abbeys, medieval mayhem, and the Story of the Horse while highlighting the rich heritage of one of Ireland’s oldest towns as part of Ireland’s Ancient East.”
Fáilte Ireland has identified a number of strategic objectives and priorities for Ireland’s Ancient East which target the use of storytelling interpretation to create brilliant experiences and in turn to deliver economic benefits.
These objectives are to:
Deliver engaging world-class visitor experiences that make Ireland’s living and historical culture accessible through the use of authentic stories as a differentiator;
Create and deliver unique visitor experiences based on “living” the history;
Provide the visitor with interpretation in the first language of the target audience, i.e. in English, French, German, Spanish and Italian;
Increase the length of time visitors spend in Ireland’s Ancient East and the amount of money they spend there;
Encourage overseas visitors to stay beyond the traditional tourism season and to visit longer.
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