Fáilte Ireland awards €48,000 grant to Birr Castle

The history and stories behind Offaly’s Birr Castle will be brought to life thanks to a €48,000 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 that submitted by Birr Castle, 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 announcement today, Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Brendan Griffin said Ireland’s Ancient East attracts visitors from across the country and overseas thanks to its rich history and storytelling.

"Offaly 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 Birr Castle will really help to boost the tourism offering here and, in turn, drive even more visitors and revenue into County Offaly.”

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 for Birr Castle in Offaly, 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.”

The 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; and encourage overseas visitors to stay beyond the traditional tourism season and to visit longer.