heritage - louthcoco.ie · michael gaynor president agriculture, food & fisheries forum jim...

L O U T H E C O N O M I C F O R U M1 0 P O I N T P L A N

LOU

TH THE COUNTY OF CHOICE TO DO BUSIN

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TOURISM ANDHERITAGE

L O U T H E C O N O M I C F O R U M 1 0 P O I N T P L A N

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County LouthTourism & Heritage Action Plan 2016 -2021

The Louth Economic Forum was formed in April 2009, following the publication of

the Indecon suite of reports of that year, which set out detailed evidence-based and

comprehensive economic development strategies for Louth over the period 2009-

2015. It was decided that the best way to implement the strategy in a coordinated

manner would be to seek the collaboration of the State development agencies and the

business community in Co Louth to take ownership of these strategies through the Louth

Economic Forum.

The Forum devised a 10 Point Economic Action Plan identifying 10 specific areas to be

addressed within its work programme. Task groups were formed to drive each of these

areas including Tourism and Heritage, which is the subject of this updated action plan.

Louth Economic Forum


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Louth Economic Forum MembershipIndependent Chair Person Mr. Martin Cronin

Business State/Development Agencies Local Authority

Ardee Business CommunityJim Malone

Drogheda & District ChamberEddie Phelan President

Dundalk Chamber of CommerceMichael Gaynor President

Agriculture, Food & Fisheries ForumJim Mulcahy Chairperson

PayPalEmer Higgins, Events & Communications Specialist

Department of Social ProtectionAnne Keeley, Area Manager Dundalk/Monaghan

Dundalk Institute of Technology Irene McCausland Vice President for Strategy,Communications and Development

Enterprise IrelandAnne Caldwell Regional Development Executive (NE Region)

Fáilte IrelandMartina O’Dwyer, Project Officer

IDA IrelandDeirdre Craven Border Region

LMETBSadie Ward McDermott, Director of FET

SEAIDeclan Meally Head of Department, Emerging Sectors

Louth County CouncilJoan MartinChief Executive

Frank PentonyDirector of Service, Economic Development, Planning & Infrastructure

Mary T DalySenior Executive Officer, Economic Development & Planning

Thomas McEvoyHead of Local Enterprise Office – Louth

Miriam RoeEconomic Development Unit

Martin Cronin, Independent Chairperson of the Louth Economic

Forum, is a fellow of the Irish Academy of Engineering and of

Engineers Ireland. Martin was Chief Executive of Forfás from

2002 to 2009 and prior to this was director of operations at

IDA Ireland for eight years. He is also Chairman of InterTrade-

Ireland, Chairman of the Steering Group of the Connacht Ulster

Alliance a board member at Appian Asset Management and a

member of the Oversight Board of the Financial Mathematics

Computation Strategic Research Cluster.

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About County Louth• 1 hour commute from Dublin or Belfast;

• Heritage county, steeped in history with

outstanding archaeological features;

• Internationally important and protected

coastline with an unspoiled natural

environment;

• Blue flag beaches with picturesque coastal

villages at Baltray, Annagassan, Clogherhead

and Blackrock;

• Vibrant towns of Dundalk, Drogheda,

Carlingford and Ardee with nationally-

acclaimed arts, crafts, culture and festivals,

museums and galleries, historic houses and

gardens;

• Easy access to adventure tourism, walking

and cycling, equestrian and water activities,

golf and angling;

• Welcoming hospitable communities, proud of

what Louth has offer:

‘The wee county with a big heart’.

Port Beach

Ardee Castle


Introduction

Tourism has a critical role in contributing

to Louth’s economic development. Fáilte

Ireland’s growth projections estimate an

increase of ten million tourists nationally by

2020. Louth’s strategic position in the east

coast region and on Dublin’s hinterland, as

well as the accrued tourism benefits from

Ireland’s Ancient East, forecast a further

gain for the county.

Louth has a strong value proposition

and many stories to tell. ‘Louth Land of

Legends and full of life’ brand feeds into

three key tourism destinations, Ireland’s

Ancient East, The Boyne Valley and the

Cooley Mournes Gullion Regions. Our

Green Way and waterways, our sandy

coastline, our wide range of recreational

activities and our strong focus on arts

and culture, artisan foods and festivals

give plenty of scope for visitors to ‘live life

to the full’ and extend their stay in the

county. Our challenge is to further expand

the reach of this excellent tourism product.

The Tourism and Heritage Action Plan

aims to ensure that Louth has adequate

infrastructure in place to attract an

increased number of visitors to the county;

extend their ‘dwell time’; and maximise

their ‘spend’ in order to gain increased

revenue and create additional sustainable

local jobs across the county.

It seeks to capitalise on Louth’s

opportunities and enhance local economies

throughout the county. To achieve this, we

need the support of the whole community

to fulfil our ambitious aims by adopting

a partnership approach with the Louth

Tourism Officers and other sectoral players;

including Fáilte Ireland, Tourism Ireland, and

the Northern Ireland Tourism Board.

Louth Economic Forum has consulted widely

with Fáilte Ireland, and a variety of industry

stakeholders locally and regionally to ensure

that the Tourism and Heritage Action plan

is in line with national and regional tourism

strategies, and to optimise the spirit of

industry partnership which has underpinned

the Tourism and Heritage Forum’s approach

from the outset.

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Fáilte Ireland research shows that in 2015,

revenue generated by overseas visitors to

County Louth accounted for 1% of the

total revenue generated in the State.

Building on our strong tourism offering

and growing our existing markets will

increase further investment in our local

areas. The Tourism and Heritage Plan

will adopt a community-wide cohesive

approach to enhancing our tourism

products and services.

Visitors to Co Louth have a plethora of

choice within a small radius. The three key

tourism destinations: Ireland’s Ancient East,

the Boyne Valley and the Cooley Mournes

Gullion Region demonstrate the potential

growth opportunities within this market

segment.

Louth: The Tourism Opportunities

Strengthening cross border co-operation

in tourism development will be key to

success and collaborative working with

transport providers will facilitate and

promote easy access to the county.

The highly anticipated Greenore to

Greencastle Ferry will extend Louth’s

market reach, and will enable visitors

from the North to access Louth more

easily.

St. Patricks Cathedral

Millmount


The Process

As part of the review of the Tourism and Heritage Action Plan, the Louth Economic

Forum hosted a workshop to examine Ireland’s Ancient East strategy and how it could

enhance Louth’s tourism offering. It was attended by representatives from Fáilte Ireland,

the hospitality sector, tour operators, tourism providers, arts, heritage, community

representatives and delegates from the Chambers of Commerce.

Participants discussed the opportunities for County Louth arising from Ireland’s Ancient

East strategy and how more collaborative working could be achieved between the

industry partners to capitalise on the designation. Their feedback and insights are

reflected in this plan. The draft Tourism and Heritage Plan was presented to the members

of Louth County Council Economic Development & Enterprise Support Strategic Policy

Committee and adopted by the elected Members of the plenary Council.

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LOUTHLand of Legends

Boyne Valley

Ireland’sAncient East

CooleyMournesGullion

Sharing our Heritage Exploring our Mountains, Fields and Sea

Enjoying our Arts, Culture, Food and Festivals

Destination Development


Louth has a rich and ancient history and

heritage. Travelling through this region

of Ireland’s Ancient East, visitors can

experience 5,000 years of history

in lush green landscapes, a journey

that will be brought to life by the best

storytellers in the world.

Louth’s ancient settlements,

monasteries, castles, fortresses and

Anglo-Irish great houses, illuminated

by their rich oral and music tradition,

provide a vast array of fascinating

snapshots of life in the county through

the centuries. The 40,000 kg Proleek

Neolithic Dolmen, the sixth century

Muiredeach’s Cross at Monasterboice;

the Viking ship fortress at Annagassan;

the twelfth century Cistercian Abbey at

Mellifont; St Oliver Plunkett’s shrine, and

the Jacobean Beaulieu Manor House

symbolise an unsurpassed authenticity

and an insight to Louth’s multi-faceted

past.

Explore Ireland’s Ancient East in County Louth

Monasterboice

Proleek Dolmen

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Knowth, Brú na Bóinne WHS

With the majestic River Boyne flowing

through the counties of Louth and

Meath, the Boyne Valley is a UNESCO

World Heritage Site and is the largest

and one of the most important

prehistoric megalithic sites in Europe.

It is Ireland’s ancient capital and

stretches across a sacred and mythical

landscape. Its sites and monuments

are amongst the best examples of their

kind in Europe and are all within a short

distance of each other.

They include the great prehistoric tombs

at Brú na Bóinne (Newgrange), the early

monastic sites, the medieval walled

town of Drogheda and the site of the

infamous Battle of the Boyne. With its

combination of history, heritage, myth

and magic and its range of sporting and

leisure activities, the Boyne Valley has

become one of Ireland’s most visited and

leading tourist destinations.

Discover Louth’s rich heritage in the Boyne Valley

Laurence’s Gate


Enjoy Louth’s Natural Resources: Cooley Peninsula and the Mourne Gullion Region

Carlingford Medieval Village

Carlingford

The village of Carlingford nestles

between Slieve Foy, Carlingford Lough

and the Mourne mountains and is

less than an hour’s drive from both

Dublin and Belfast. A unique blend of

natural beauty, spectacular panoramas

and ancient legends combines with a

contemporary cultural infrastructure.

Ireland’s first century epic saga, An Tain

Bó Cuailgne (The Cattle Raid of Cooley),

is immortalised on the Cooley Peninsula

where Queen Maeve and the Táin

Warriors successfully captured the

famous Brown Bull of Cooley. Their

route can be followed across Ireland to

the Cooley Mountains and is known as

The Táin Trail; a very accessible circular

walking route of quiet roads, forestry

tracks, and open mountain paths, that

loops around Carlingford Mountain

and its western outliers. It is an area of

growing geo-tourism, and rocks exposed

in the Mourne Cooley Gullion region

represent over 400 million years of

geological history.

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Increase the number of visitors to the region by working in partnership to develop a

world-class sustainable tourism experience.

Our Vision

Our MissionHow we will achieve this?

We will develop and promote tourism, arts, culture and heritage by capitalising on Co

Louth’s unique location within Ireland’s Ancient East, as the hub for the Boyne Valley and

the Cooley, Mourne and Gullion Regions by:

• Increasing the number of bed nights and ‘dwelling time’ in order to generate

further tourism revenue, create associated tourism employment and enhance local

economies;

• Maximising revenue funding to achieve commercial advantage and sustainable

tourism growth;

• Marketing and promoting Louth’s unique heritage, arts and cultural strengths.

• Leveraging off Louth’s ‘Green’ county reputation, its quality environment credentials

and its recreational, sporting and other activities.


Our Plan has 3 Strategic Themes

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3

Sharing our Heritage

Exploring our Mountains, Fields and Sea


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Sharing Our Heritage

THEM

E 1

Cultural tourism is one of the fastest

growing tourism sectors internationally.

Statistics show that by far the most

popular reason for visitors to visit

County Louth has been to experience

our heritage sites (18.1%). By increasing

awareness and knowledge of the

Region’s unique heritage and culture

offering, we want to attract more

visitors to the county via excellent and

varied accommodation, a quality service,

and product and holiday experience.Our Priority

We aim to encourage

more visitors to the county

by exploiting the benefits

of Ireland’s Ancient East

brand.

Mellifont by Night

Newgrange

Monasterboice by Night


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• Work with partners in the region via

the Boyne Valley Strategy to embed

Ireland’s Ancient East offering in

Louth, communicate the ‘Louth

Land of Legends, full of life’

brand, and increase revenue income

and associated visitor numbers;

• Increase the numbers of bed nights

and dwelling time as a result of our

focus on heritage and culture;

• Disperse visitor traffic across

the county by encouraging the

exploration of both signature and

lesser known sites and experiences;

• Create memorable, new or improved

heritage tourism experiences and

visitor attractions in towns and

villages;

• Continue to share resources and

services in the development of the

Boyne Valley, including a Boyne

Valley Tourism Officer;

AC

TIO

NS • Access INTERREG national and

regional funding to support local

heritage infrastructure;

• Develop an accessible online

resource with targeted content and

destination points to tell the story of

Louth’s Land of Legends, full of life;

• Ensure that adequate signage and

access are in place to improve the

visitor experience and to facilitate

navigation around the county;

• Support Louth County Council’s

nomination of Monasterboice as a

UNESCO World Heritage Site;

• Capitalise on the potential of the Irish

language and culture, particularly in

the Oriel Region to increase visitor

numbers;

• Work in partnership to develop a

cross-border historic literary trail,

building on the region’s literary

heritage.

We will . . .

We will market Louth, Land of Legends, full of life by . . .

• Developing a localised marketing strategy focusing on key audiences for Louth’s Land

of Legends, full of life and Ireland’s Ancient East brand;

• Devising a ‘culturally curious’ digital marketing strategy to enhance the heritage and

culture product;

• Working with national and local tour operators and hotels to develop packages to

explore signature destinations and lesser known sites;

• Providing the necessary infrastructure, visitor services and promotional materials to

market our key heritage sites;

• Establishing an accredited Louth local ‘ambassador’ initiative involving volunteers from

local communities;

• Improving foreign language provision at attractions and heritage sites.

Beaulieu House Roche CastleKing John’s Castle

AC

TION

S

Exploring our Mountains, Fields and Sea

Visitors to Louth can experience a

wide selection of outdoor pursuits

and activities, from mountains to sea.

The Cooley Mountains are not only

stunningly scenic, but are a haven for

walkers and cyclists, while Louth’s open

moorlands have a variety of undisturbed

wildlife habitats.

Carlingford is a market leader for

outdoor pursuits and adventure sports

on land or sea. Greenore is famous for

its golfing and water sports. Close by,

there are golf links courses at Seapoint

and Baltray, and there are few parkland

courses as fine as Dundalk golf course.

The River Boyne is home to the ancient

legend about the Salmon of Knowledge,

with plenty of opportunities for keen

anglers.

Louth’s retail combination of large

shopping chains, niche boutiques and

craft shops incentivises the ‘Shop and

Stay’ tourist. Family destination packages

appeal to the water lovers and adventure

seekers. Drogheda, a twelfth century

walled town, has a vibrant cultural scene

while music, theatre and visual arts

experiences offered by artists and other

performers at county arts venues are

recognised nationally and internationally.

Our Priority

We aim to develop opportunities

to deliver a better visitor

experience and create a demand

for return visits.

THEM

E 2

• Extend the eastern Greenway

(Omeath to Carlingford);

• Increase the number of iconic

walkways and cycle routes in the

county, utilising disused transport

links where feasible;

• Develop Louth as an eco-tourism

destination;

• Facilitate the development of agri–

tourism;

• Work in partnership with various

service providers to create a blend of

visitor–friendly family packages;

We will . . .

• Ensure that appropriate

infrastructure, sports and business

conference facilities, low cost, high

quality guest houses, and bed and

breakfast accommodation are in

place to meet visitor need;

• Develop the potential of inland water

-based activities; particularly in the

areas of fishing, angling, canoeing

and kayaking;

• Develop tourism-related maritime

projects.

AC

TION

S


AC

TIO

NS

We will market our recreation and leisure product by . . .

• Developing the potential of nature

and wildlife tourism in the county;

• Promoting Louth as a key destination

for adventure sports, cycling,

watersports, and horse racing;

• Working with local Chambers of

Commerce to promote Louth as a

‘shop and stay’ destination;

• Devising a marketing and

communications strategy to attract

key market segments;

• Pursuing and facilitating joint

marketing, promotion and viable

infrastructure provision with our

cross-border colleagues.

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THEM

E 3

With its prime location, Louth has become an

established destination for a variety of food,

arts and cultural events attracting local, cross-

border and regional audiences. Its dynamic

events and festivals, ranging from music to

theatre to visual arts, are located in a number

of flagship venues across the county. Amongst

these are the Droichead Arts Centre, The

Highlanes Gallery and St Peter’s Church in

Drogheda; In Dundalk the Táin Arts Centre

and the Oriel Centre, Dundalk Gaol; St

Mary’s Abbey in Ardee and the Carlingford

Heritage Centre all of which regularly

welcome local and international audiences

to their events. The Irish Maritime Festival,

held at Drogheda Port, is an exciting, fast-

expanding festival which incorporates artisan

foods, crafts, music and the maritime

tradition with family fun, games and sport

for everyone. The Táin March Festival, which

has been steadily growing in recent years,

follows in the footsteps of Queen Maeve’s

legendary journey from Roscommon to Louth

to capture the renowned Brown Bull of Cooley.

The march sees three days of events, at various

sites across the county, which culminates with

the Táin Festival in Omeath.

Our Priority

We aim to increase

attendance and

participation by local

people and visitors from

further afield at all of our

festivals across the county.


• Develop festival packages to attract

the uptake of more bed nights and

increase the visitor stay;

• Encourage participation of local

artists and volunteers in our festival

programmes;

• Participate in Louth Arts Service’s

public engagement and audience

development programmes;

• Work to increase the national

regional and local funding envelope

and sponsorship for the Festivals of

Louth;

• Collaborate with Louth Festivals

Network to devise a county-wide

festival guide to support festival

organisers to engage with the

logistics of festival planning;

• Work with cross-border sectoral

interests to develop cultural packages

for music, theatre groups, dance,

visual arts and other cultural events;

AC

TIO

NS

We will . . .

• Coordinate a food and drink network

within the County and devise a food

and drink strategy to benefit local

enterprise and the tourism offering;

• Regenerate Louth’s indigenous craft

industry, focusing on thatching and

boat building to enhance the visitor

experience;

• Use existing creative hubs to promote

design and craft skills and increase

tourist interest;

• Develop an events plan for the

county, showcasing what it has to

offer e.g. food, drink, entertainment,

business, tourism;

• Investigate the potential of food and

drink producers to showcase their

products on site e.g. visitor centres.

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• Developing an effective marketing and communications

strategy for the Festivals of Louth;

• Establishing an annual award structure to reward Good

Food establishments and food producers in Louth;

• Increasing visitor footfall by establishing country markets in

local areas;

• Promoting Louth’s indigenous craft sector.

We will market this by . . .


Directory of Tourism Information Centres

Visit Louth

Town Hall, Crowe St, Dundalkt 1890 202303e [email protected] www.visitlouth.ie Carlingford Tourist Office

The Old Station House, Carlingfordt + 353 42 9373033e [email protected] www.carlingford.ie

Drogheda Tourist Office

The Tholsel, West Street, Droghedat +353 41 9872843e [email protected] www.drogheda.ie

Dundalk Tourist Office

Jocelyn Street, Dundalkt +353 42 9335484e [email protected] www.visitlouth.ie

Newry Visitor Information Centre

Bagenal’s Castle, Castle Street,Newry, BT34 2DAt 048 3031 3170 (from ROI)e [email protected] www.visitmournemountains.co.uk

Boyne Valley Tourism

County Hall, Railway St, Navan,Co Meatht +353 46 9097060e [email protected] www.discoverboynevalley.ie

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County Museum

Carroll Centre, Roden Place,Jocelyn Street, Dundalkt +353 42 9327056e [email protected] www.dundalkmuseum.ie

Millmount Museum

Millmount, Droghedat +353 41 9833097e [email protected] www.millmount.net

Brú Na Bóinne / Newgrange

Boyne Valley Visitors Centre, Donore,Co. Meatht +353 41 9880300e [email protected] www.heritageireland.ie

Battle of the Boyne

Battle of the Boyne / OPWt +353 41 9809950e [email protected] www.battleoftheboyne.ie

Places of Interest

Louth County Archives

Old Gaol, Ardee Road, Dundalkt +353 42 9324358e [email protected] www.louthcoco.ie

Highlanes Gallery

Laurence Street, Droghedat +353 41 9803311e [email protected] www.highlanes.ie

An Táin Arts Centre

Crowe Street, Dundalkt +353 42 9332332e [email protected] www.antain.ie

Oriel Centre

Dundalk Gaol, Dundalkt +353 42 9328887e [email protected] www.orielcentre.ie

heritage - louthcoco.ie · michael gaynor president agriculture, food & fisheries forum jim...

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