Tag Archives: Wild Atlantic Way

Millions of people around the world will be reading and hearing all about Clare’s Wild Atlantic Way over the coming weeks and months,  following this week’s visit by journalists from 13 different countries. Invited here by Tourism Ireland, the group is made up of influential journalists from media outlets in the United States, Canada, Germany, France, Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, China, South Africa, India and Brazil. They are here to experience some of the many things to see and do along Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way and to then write or broadcast about it on their return home, to inspire prospective travellers to come and experience this part of Ireland for themselves. Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, said,”Fact-finding visits like this are an important element of Tourism Ireland’s overall promotional effort; they are a really effective way for us to get positive exposure for Clare and Ireland through the media around the world. The publicity value of the …

TG4 music and magazine series, Féilte will visit Clare on its journey of discovery along the Wild Atlantic Way on this Thursday at 8.30pm. TG4’s Féilte programme continues its nine-week tour of the hidden treasures along the Western seaboard, following the Fáilte Ireland-promoted 2,500km Wild Atlantic Way.The tour began on the Inishowen Peninsula in County Donegal and ends in Kinsale, County Cork. The programme, which will be aired this Thursday, sees presenter, Síle Ní Bhraonáin come to the Banner County. The show will feature the finest traditional music, song and dance, local cuisine and adventure activities. Síle discovers some of the secret gems in the towns and villages along the route, as well as some spectacular scenery. Síle drops in to Friel’s, also known as Lynch’s pub, in the Willie Clancy festival town of Miltown Malbay, where entertainment is provided by renowned musicians, Edel Fox, Therese McInerney, Marian Curtin, Deirdre O’Brien and Cian Talty, who all come from local families …

Following the success of the Gathering initiative in 2013, the emphasis in tourist circles now and for the next number of years will be on driving the 2,500km Wild Atlantic Way, which runs from Kinsale in Cork up the west coast to Malin Head in Donegal. The west coast of Clare sits on the key south-west section of the Wild Atlantic Way and, in an initiative by Ennis-based Spa Transport and Shannon Ferries, this section of the route features on eight of the fleet of trailers operated by Spa Transport, under the theme, Bridging the Wild Atlantic Way. The tourism industry is highly dependent on home visitors and this advertising initiative brings the message, incorporating a map of the south-west, to the main highways and urban areas in Ireland. The Wild Atlantic Way is modelled on a number of high-profile driving routes across the world, including the Garden Route in South Africa and the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, Australia. …

North Clare’s more picturesque spots will be seen by about a million people in a television documentary airing in Germany next month. A crew from ARD, a national German TV network, is in Ireland this week as guests of Tourism Ireland, filming for the documentary along the Wild Atlantic Way. The documentary will be called Weltreisen meaning World Travel. Footage captured in Clare includes the Burren and the Cliffs of Moher, as well as the Weltreisen crew enjoying a surfing demonstration in Doolin. The 45-minute programme will air in July. This year, Tourism Ireland is placing a major focus on the Wild Atlantic Way in its promotions around the world. The Wild Atlantic Way is being highlighted on television, in print, online and at international tourism fairs. “We are delighted that the crew from ARD agreed to create this documentary featuring Clare and the Wild Atlantic Way. The programme will be seen by around one million potential holidaymakers for Ireland …

A DELEGATION of 15 Irish tourism companies, including Shannon Heritage and five American tour operator partners, last week joined with Tourism Ireland in targeting hundreds of travel agents and influential journalists in Fort Worth, Houston and Austin in Texas With a population of about 28 million, the state of Texas is becoming an increasingly important market for tourism to the island of Ireland. This is something which bodes well for Shannon Airport where  transatlantic services have been increased this year. Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Michael Ring also travelled with the group for the second of its ‘Jump into Ireland’ 2014 sales blitzes in the US. Tourism Ireland also introduced the country’s newest tourism experience, the Wild Atlantic Way at the various events. Similar ‘Jump into Ireland’ events will take place in Chicago and Boston, in September, as well as Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle, in November.  

KILKEE businessman Johnny Redmond has reacted angrily to Councillor Gabriel Keating’s suggestion that business in the town remains unaffected by the yet to be repaired damage to the seawall and parts of the Strand Line. Kilkee was extensively damaged during Storm Darwin last February. The road in front of his business is remains impassable. “The Strand Bistro and Restaurant is currently located at what I would call Ground Zero. Left and right of me the roads are completely closed. I have absolutely no passing trade or won’t have passing trade for the whole summer,” Johnny Redmond said on Wednesday. However Councillor Keating said that he feels the damage in Kilkee is not affecting business. “It’s not going to affect the business of Kilkee in my book or the people of Kilkee,” he maintained. “Gabriel Keating has some cheek to say that it’s not going to affect business in the town. How would he know about the impact of this on …

By Nicola Corless PARTS of the Wild Atlantic Way tourist route were closed to facilitate an unofficial “modified car rally”, it emerged this week. Gardaí have said they were “shocked” by a large, “planned and organised”, unofficial motoring event, which took place in the dead of night on roads between Lahinch and Ballyvaughan last month. On March 7, approximately 70 cars converged on the promenade in Lahinch before travelling to the Cliffs of Moher, Doolin and on to Corkscrew Hill in Ballyvaughan, where the main event occurred. Chief Superintendent John Kerin said that gardaí were shocked by what they saw on the night. “Activities of what people call ‘boy racers’ have dwindled a lot in recent years because of the economy but in the last couple of months there has been an increase in activities and they have become more organised so we put an operation in place to tackle this,” he said. “We had noticed ‘doughnuts’ on the roads …

TOURISM Ireland, together with various Irish tourism enterprises, including Clare Tourism Forum and Shannon Heritage, mounted a major presence at this year’s Philadelphia Flower Show, to target the increasing number of Americans interested in visiting gardens in Ireland. The Philadelphia Flower Show is the world’s largest indoor flower and horticultural exhibition, attracting about 265,000 visitors each year; an ideal platform to showcase Ireland and the wonderful mix of unique gardens to be found here. This year, the centrepiece of the Tourism Ireland stand was a special garden exhibit called The Wild Atlantic Way. Modelled on Ireland’s newest visitor experience, the space featured a replica of the Poulnabrone dolmen and was designed to bring the wild landscape of our western seaboard to life for the hundreds of thousands of visitors to the show.