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Tag Archives: Bunratty Folk Park

Bunratty Folk Park reopening on Friday week

SHANNON Group has announced the reopening of Bunratty Folk Park from Friday, April 30. The announcement follows the lifting of Government restrictions for outdoor heritage sites. It will open four days a week initially for residents of Co Clare, as well as Limerick people living within 20 kilometres of the popular attraction. Set on 26 acres of Clare countryside, there is plenty of space for social distancing. The 19th century themed Folk Park features a living village and rural setting as it would have appeared at that time. All visitors are required to pre book at www.bunrattycastle.ie in advance of their visit. To ensure proper social distancing, a one-way system has been designed to guide visitors around the Folk Park. Commenting on Bunratty Folk Park’s reopening, Vanessa McTigue of Shannon Heritage said: “This year has been incredibly difficult for everyone and we know that people are looking forward to exploring their county. We are delighted to reopen Bunratty Folk Park and …

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27 jobs to go at Shannon Heritage

TWENTY-SEVEN employees of Shannon Heritage are reported to have accepted a voluntary severance package offer. The redundancies, according to a source based at Bunratty Folk Park, come after two years of financial losses. In response, a spokesperson for the company said, “Shannon Heritage employs over 360 staff across all its visitor sites in the peak tourist season and is central to the prosperity of the regional economy, delivering significant spin-off benefits to a range of businesses each year. Like all businesses, Shannon Heritage needs to continuously look at ways to improve its operating efficiency. “As part of this, we introduced a voluntary severance scheme across all our sites, which enables us to restructure how we deliver our services. We continue to invest in our people and facilities to ensure we offer a first-class customer experience.” The spokesperson added, “Through this voluntary process, we are pleased to have been able to accommodate the majority of staff who applied to avail of this opportunity. …

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Visitor numbers up at Bunratty

Shannon Heritage, Ireland’s largest operator of tourist attractions and part of Shannon Group plc, has announced a strong performance in the first three quarters of 2015 with visitors number at one of its flagship attractions, Bunratty Castle up by 14%. To the end of September 2015, key attractions in the Shannon Heritage portfolio showed an increase in visitor numbers. Bunratty Folk Park visits were up 14% on 2014, with King John’s Castle experiencing growth of 8%. In Dublin, the Shannon Heritage run Malahide Castle and Gardens saw a 15% increase in visits. Market research indicates that visitors from the US and Europe were up on 2014, whilst there was also significant increase in the amount of corporate events held in Shannon Heritage locations compared to last year. Speaking about the figures, Shannon Heritage CEO John Ruddle was delighted with the performance so far this year. “With 2014 having been the strongest year since 2007, the challenge was to keep the …

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Family fury over death inquiry delay

THE family of the late Patrick Nugent from Sixmilebridge has accused the Department of Justice of adding “insult to injury” over its failure to update them on the potential for an independent review into his death. The death of 23-year-old banqueting manager Patrick Nugent, in Bunratty, in the early hours of February 11, 1984 is back in the spotlight this week as members of the Nugent family, from Feenagh, Sixmilebridge, have highlighted their frustration over being left in the dark for the past 13 months on a possible review of file. “The lack of communication is adding insult to injury for the family,” said his brother, John, a view shared by his sibling, Martin. “It is a like a repeat of what happened over 30 years ago when we were coming up against a brick wall. We weren’t getting any proper answers back then and it is the same now. It is hard to believe it. We will not throw …

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A sunny start of tourist season

A COMBINATION of good weather, the Wild Atlantic Way and a public holiday saw huge numbers of people flock to the Clare coast at the weekend. Tourism providers across the county are reporting one of the busiest Easter weekends in recent years. One prominent hotelier said it was “more like August than April”, which meant that seasonal staff could be hired over a month earlier than usual. Attractions across the county also recorded high visitor numbers, with the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Centre, Bunratty Folk Park and Craggaunowen all recording increases this year compared to last. “It was a super weekend,” John Burke from the Armada Hotel in Spanish Point and Hotel Doolin stated. “We had a surge in customer numbers. People just want to flock to the coast to cool down and it was great to see it pick up so early in the season. It has allowed us to recruit earlier in the year. Normally, seasonal staff wouldn’t …

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Tuning up for a winter weekend of top class entertainment

MORE than 1,000 people are expected to flock to Bunratty and Sixmilebridge for the annual Shannonside Winter Music Festival and visitors to Bunratty Castle & Folk Park will be in for some special performances as part of the line-up. The castle and folk park will play host a number of events on Saturday, January 17, from 12noon to 5pm, giving its visitors a flavour of all that the international music event has to offer. Each year, the Winter Music Festival showcases a variety of music genres and has been growing year-on-year both in popularity and in the diversity of the acts. For the fourth year-in-a-row, Bunratty Castle and Folk Park will play host to the best of this year’s talent across five venues. The acts change every hour and perform a 45 minute set each. John Ruddle, CEO of Shannon Heritage, which manages and operates Bunratty Castle & Folk Park, said, “It never ceases to amaze me how, each year, …

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Easter fun at Bunratty and Craggaunowen

SHANNON Heritage has lined up a feast of family fun this Easter at  Bunratty Castle and Folk Park and Craggaunowen. Easter fun at Craggaunowen kicks-off on Easter Sunday with a special guest appearance from the Easter Bunny. A fun filled afternoon is planned with puppet theatre, magic shows, bouncy castle, storytelling, face painting and traditional Irish music as well as some delicious Easter eggs for all to enjoy. Visitors will also have the opportunity to view the famous Brendan Boat, which historian and explorer Tim Severin and his crew used to re-enact the voyage of St Brendan the Navigator, reputed to have discovered America centuries before Columbus. Thanks to Tim’s kindness, Shannon Heritage are fortunate to have the honour of housing the Brendan Boat at Craggaunowen for visitors to view and appreciate this amazing story of courage, determination and fortitude. Meanwhile, celebrations at Bunratty Castle and Folk Park on Monday at 1pm features “Wrestling Warriors on Tour”, an American style …

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