The Hill of Uisneach has become the star of the show in a new marketing campaign for Ireland’s Ancient East.
Much like the way ‘The Wild Atlantic Way’ successfully did for the West, ‘Ireland’s Ancient East’ aims to attract tourists to the east and south of the country, a region Failte Ireland said is being bypassed.
In attendance at the briefing for the campaign at Mount Juliet, Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny last week was spoken word artist Marty Mulligan. “We’re amazed and thrilled with the amount of exposure it’s receiving. Uisneach features really prominently in the video on the “Ireland’s Ancient East’ website and is tied in with places like Newgrange.” he told Topic.
He said the ancient ceremonial site is already seeing the benefits of the campaign which was first launched in 2014. “More tour groups are coming and more tour operators are looking to put Mullingar on their itinerary. Last week we had people from Germany, Czech Republic, the States and Holland. The feedback we’ve been getting from the tour companies is that they love it here. They’ll do the normal tour of Ireland that follows the coast and they’ll end up kissing the Blarney stone and all that and the place will be flooded with tour buses while here in Mullingar it’s one bus at a time and they get a bit of space to themselves. They get through a traditional market town. They don’t have that in America. Mullingar is an attraction in itself. “
Over 250 other tourism businesses attended the briefing to hear the tourism authority’s plans for the new destination brand for the East and South and how businesses can benefit from the campaign.
The Hill of Uisneach is one of a list of Irish “royal sites” however Mr. Mulligan says that the midlands is often passed by as a tourism destination in favour of other sites such as the Rock of Cashel and the Hill of Tara. “Uisneach and the Midlands has been overlooked for too long but it is one of the key sites in this campaign which is great.”
Mr. Mulligan said that when the new visitor centre, which was partially funded by Fáilte Ireland, opens in July, the number of tours operating are set to increase. “”At the moment we do public tours every week on Saturday and Sundays at 1pm and once the visitor centre is open, we’ll be doing tours daily at 1 o’clock and people can also book private tours.”
As part of the briefing, attendees were given a first look at the new, ‘mobile-first’, Ireland’s Ancient East website (www.irelandsancienteast.com) which went live on Thursday, 19 May as well as an early glimpse of the tourism authorities upcoming domestic marketing campaig. Furthermore, a new digital toolkit – which includes a range of practical tips and tools to help businesses build and sell their story – was made available to all businesses so that they can align their marketing and sales strategy with the new brand.
Speaking at the event, Chairman of Fáilte Ireland, Michael Cawley emphasised, “Our new destination brand, ‘Ireland’s Ancient East’, will allow us to market and leverage the unique depth and diversity of the region’s heritage assets. Storytelling is vital in making the connection with our visitors. Whether through technology, marketing or more compelling narratives, we need to substantially develop this storytelling capability around attractions in the region.”
Plans for the new brand in the year ahead were also presented at the event by Head of Ireland’s Ancient East, Jenny De Saulles which included a preview of the new domestic and digital advertising campaign as well as details about a new RTE television series showcasing Ireland’s Ancient East with John Creedon which is also due to air in June 2016.
