Tag Archives: Burren

MINISTER of State for Touirsm Michael Ring is in County Clare this Tuesday for a number of engagements. At noon he will perform the official opening of the new extension to the Burren Outdoor Centre, at Turlough, Bellharbour. Following this he will meeet the board of directors Lisdoonvarna Failte to dicusss tourism in the North Clare area. Finally, he will travel to West Clare to visit the rebranded Trump International Golf Links, Doonbeg to be briefed on development plans. Minister Ring will be accompanied by Clare Fine Gael Oireachtas members.

TOURISM is one of the main drivers of the Clare economy and in the North Clare region the Burren plays a pivotal role in this sector. Next Wednesday night, an information and network event will be held to showcase the activities, adventures, food and heritage of the Burren Region. The Burren and Cliffs of Moher Geopark, in conjunction with the Burren Ecotourism Network, will host The Burren Tourism Story 2014, at the Pavilion, Lisdoonvarna from 6.30pm to 8.30pm. The event will feature information stands, food tastings, the launch of the Burren’s first adventure and activities trail, and guest presentations from author and green business lecturer Prof. Finbarr Bradley; head of programmes and delivery Fáilte Ireland, Fiona Monaghan and award-winning travel writer and journalist, Pól O’Conghaile. Tina O’Dwyer, sustainable tourism co-ordinator, Burren and Cliffs of Moher Geopark explained that the primary purpose of the upcoming event will be to highlight the variety and quality of visitor attractions and activities on offer …

CLARE  is ideally placed to succeed in an entry for the European Entrepreneurial Region Award according to MEP Sean Kelly, who has raised the matter in the European Parliament.  High profile tourism attractions such as the Burren and Cliffs of Moher could gain benefit from such an award, he noted. Speaking in the Parliament, the Fine Gael MEP said Clare would be a worthy recipient of the award which is designed to recognise regions that facilitate entrepreneurialism through forward thinking and sustainable governance. “Kerry is the county I come from and it received the European Entrepreneurial Region Award in 2011. Clare is another county, which could benefit hugely from such an award. Clare is home to some of the finest tourist attractions in the world – the Cliffs of Moher, the Burren. And, of course, there is Shannon Airport and the aerospace sector, which have the potential to generate jobs,” he said. Mr Kelly said the new EU COSME programme could …

FUNDING of almost €96,000 for a tourism signage plan for the Burren has been announced this Monday  by the Minister for Tourism and Sport Michael Ring. The project includes key elements to help visitors navigate the Wild Atlantic Way through the Burren including: A scheme of directional signage for visitor attractions; Signage for the Black Head Coast Road; Amendments to the tourism directional signage on the N67 route from Kinvara to Lisdoonvarna via Ballyvaughan; Distinctive village and town name boards; Village information boards. “The Burren Signage Plan is a great example of how a signage scheme for a wider destination can be integrated into the Wild Atlantic Way, encouraging visitors to explore the wider destination,” the minister said.  

By Nicola Corless THE  Burren Farming for Conservation Programme will be included in new Rural Development Programme, it had been confirmed. Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Simon Coveney announced that €12.5 billion of funds will be sanctioned through the Irish Government and the CAP’s Pillar II programme to the agriculture sector in the period up to 2020. Clare TD Pat Breen said that inclusion of Burren Farming for Conservation Programme in the new Rural Development Programme and the proposals to introduce a new agri-environment scheme were particularly welcome. “I am in regular contact with the farming community and I am very much aware to the challenges facing farm families at this time. Indeed, the recent storm has placed Clare farmers under further pressures with thousands of acres of land now under water,” Deputy Breen said. “There was a very good uptake from Clare farmers for the previous REPS and AEOS scheme and the GLAS scheme will build on the …

WHILE recent storms have demonstrated how the weather and power of the Atlantic Ocean can have a devastating impact on Ireland’s coastline, a new series of lectures will examine how the landscape of the Burren region has changed over millions of years, due to floods, tsunamis, earthquakes and ice ages. The Stone Water and Ice: Understanding the Burren Landscape evening courses, hosted by the Burren and Cliffs of Moher Geopark and the Burren Outdoor Education Centre, take place between February 13 and March 13. Among the keynote speakers will be Dr John Murray of NUI Galway’s Earth and Ocean Science Department; geologist, Dr Eamon Doyle, and the Burren Outdoor Education Centre’s head of field studies, Colin Bunce. “The geology of the Burren and the dramatic changes experienced by the landscape of the region down through the millennia form the basis for the introductory geology course for adults,” explained Dr Doyle. “The underlying geology of the Burren holds many fascinating clues …

  THE  Burren made history this week after it was awarded a European Diploma of Protected Areas Award, the first of its kind in Ireland. Jimmy Deenihan TD, Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, accepted Ireland’s first ever ‘European Diploma of Protected Areas Award’ on Friday from the Council of Europe for the sustainable management of the Burren. Professor Michael Usher, Chairman of the Group of Specialists for the European Diploma of Protected Areas, presented the award to Minister Deenihan in the Michael Cusack Centre, Carron. Created in 1965, the award recognises the work being undertaken to conserve some of Europe’s most outstanding natural and semi-natural areas. To date, 72 diplomas have been awarded and are held in 28 European countries. On July 10, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe decided to award the European Diploma for Protected Areas to the Burren. This recognises the European significance of the area, which has remarkable natural values, a …