Tag Archives: Shannon Heritage

Red deer, once synonymous with Bunratty, can once again be seen roaming the grounds of the folk park. Shannon Heritage introduced two females, currently in calf and due to give birth in May, to the park this week. A young stag will also be arriving shortly at Bunratty. Speaking about the arrival of the red deer, Niall O’Callaghan, Managing Director, Shannon Heritage said: “Red deer have been synonymous with Bunratty Folk Park for over thirty years. They have been a hugely popular attraction as people enjoy seeing such majestic animals at close quarters. They are also seen as a real symbolic animal of Ireland by overseas visitors in particular. “Bunratty Castle and Folk Park is a living, working visitor attraction. We are really excited to have red deer back here at our site. With over 26 acres, our deer will have plenty of room to make themselves at home. The close ties between Shannon Heritage and our animals is evident …

All is at the ready at Bunratty Castle and Folk Park for the biggest Santa experience ever in the Mid-West after the great man’s team of Elves have successfully been put through their paces with a special Elf Bootcamp. New recruits to the Elf team were on their toes throughout last weekend’s boot-camp to make sure they are ready to start welcoming over 23,000 people who will come through the doors once they open for this’s special experience on Saturday. ‘The Santa Experience at Bunratty’ has become a Christmas staple for young people from across the country but wouldn’t be possible for Santa to put on without the help of his very special helpers. Among the tasks set for them for last weekend’s boot-camp were how many of Mrs Claus’ mince pies they could hand out in a single minute; could they fit through the special Elf hatch; could they bear the warmer climate here; how good were they at …

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. …

Shannon Group plc recorded another positive year of trading in 2016, as turnover hit €67.2 million, up by over 2% on 2015.  In its second full year of trading, the group, the parent company of Shannon Airport, Shannon Commercial Properties and Shannon Heritage, recorded EBITDA of €7.6 million, reflecting a solid performance and a 10% increase on 2015. Announcing his first annual results as CEO of Shannon Group, Matthew Thomas said that a continuation of the company’s improving financial performance is necessary to enable it to undertake critical investments across its business units. “The Shannon Group has a unique mix of complementary businesses that, more than any other commercial entity in the region, gives it the potential to positively influence economic development. Sixteen companies who announced new or expanded operations in 2016 in the Mid-West, which was the fastest growing region outside of Dublin last year, cited the global connectivity at Shannon Airport as a key influencer in their decision to …

Tourism Ireland in Germany kicked off its busy programme of promotions for 2017 with a strong presence at this week’s CMT (Caravan, Motor & Tourism Fair) in Stuttgart. Tourism Ireland is joined at CMT by 14 Irish tourism businesses, including Shannon Heritage. The nine-day travel fair, which attracted 220,000 visitors in 2016, provides a valuable opportunity for the participating Irish companies to showcase and sell their product and to communicate what is unique about Clare, the Shannon Region and Ireland as a great holiday destination for German travellers.

EXPLORER Tim Severin is to visit Craggaunowen this Saturday as part of a weekend celebration to mark 40 years since the legendary Brendan Voyage. The explorer, adventurer, historian and writer will make a rare visit back to the boat’s home in Craggaunowen to mark the anniversary. In 1976, Tim and four crew undertook an epic journey from Bandon, County Kerry, to re-enact the voyage of St Brendan and prove that the saint and his monks could have discovered America 500 years before Columbus. Tim and his crew sailed across the Atlantic in a leather boat, which was constructed using only the material available to the sixth-century saint and successfully completed the voyage in just over a year. After an eventful and difficult 4,500 mile (7,200km) crossing via the Aran Islands, Iona, Hebrides, Faroes, Iceland and Greenland, they finally landed in Peckford Island, Newfoundland on June 26, 1977. The success of his voyage later led to composer Shaun Davey’s Brendan Voyage suite, for …

SHANNON Group and Origin Enterprises chairman Rose Hynes has been chosen as one of Ireland’s most powerful female business leaders of the year at the annual WXN Women’s Executive Network awards. The awards celebrate the accomplishments of women in business in Ireland and were celebrated at the Network’s Leadership Summit and Awards Gala in Dublin on Thursday. Ms Hynes was one of four Davy Business Leaders award winners in the ‘Most Powerful Women Top 25 Award Winners for 2016’. The New Quay native, who lives in Limerick, played a central role in the separation of Shannon Airport from the State airport’s group in 2013, as she headed up the Aviation Business Development Task Force to report into the Government Steering Group on the future direction of the airport and Shannon Development. She was then appointed chairman of the Shannon Airport Authority to oversee the running of the airport as an independent entity until it became part of Shannon Group when it was …

Representatives from the world of online travel arrived in Dublin today (Wednesday) to meet with over 50 Irish tourism businesses. Among those at Evolve Ireland in Croke Park are Shannon Heritage and Trump International Golf Links & Hotel Doonbeg. This is a Fáilte Ireland event tailored to improve online marketing. The operators at the event include representatives from big players in the market such as Booking.com, Expedia and Lastminute.com. The European online tourism market continues to grow year on year and is expected to be worth over €126bn this year. Research has highlighted that Ireland lags behind other markets in terms of fully exploiting digital sales strategies and indicated that knowledge of online platforms needed to improve.