Fáilte Ireland has confirmed that its Global Irish Festival Series will return to Limerick later this year, featuring I.NY as an anchor project, which runs from 16-20th October, and explores the connection between Ireland and New York City. The series encourages diaspora to return home to visit Ireland and was first held as a pilot initiative in 2018. It provides funding and support, through the relevant local authorities, for events which tap into international diaspora networks to increase overseas visitors.
The announcement was made by Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Shane Ross. He said: “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.”
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.“
Welcoming the Global Irish Festival series’ return to Limerick, Pat Daly, Director of Services at Limerick City and County Council, said “Limerick City and County Council is delighted to support the Global Irish Festival Series once again in 2019. We look forward to working with Fáilte Ireland, I.NY, and the Richard Harris International Film Festival to build the series into a must see/do event in Limerick this Autumn. The programmes being hosted are very exciting and will draw interest from near and far for what promises to be a great October in Limerick.”
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.“
The Series is being announced at the Consulate General of Ireland in New York on Wednesday, 6th June, in partnership with Tourism Ireland.
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