Questions asked on Louth's Brigid 1500 promotion

Could more have been done by tourism agencies to promote the Brigid 1500 festival in Dundalk and North Louth?

That was the question posed to Tourism Minister Catherine Martin last week in Leinster House by Sinn Féin TD Ruairí Ó Murchú who asked whether more could have been done to promote Faughart as the birthplace of St Brigid abroad.

A response to a written parliamentary question from Deputy Ó Murchú, which was answered by Tourism Ireland, who are responsible for marketing Irish tourism abroad, revealed that there was a total investment by the agency of €1.25 million in the Brigid 1500 festivals.

Minister Martin said: “This year, for the first time ever, Tourism Ireland rolled out a new campaign to leverage St. Brigid’s Day around the world. This campaign, which will run for the spring period, aims to raise awareness of the island of Ireland as a great spring holiday destination.

“Tourism Ireland’s new St. Brigid’s campaign involves a new video highlighting the Brigid 1500 festival in Kildare, which includes an interview with the founder of Brigid 1500 who discusses St. Brigid's legacy, the significance of Imbolc and the start of spring in Ireland; three short videos featuring female artists from the world of music, art and storytelling, which showcase some of our wonderful female talent against a backdrop of springtime Ireland; and new content bringing spring in Ireland to life, created by six popular female travel content creators from around Ireland. These will be shared by Tourism Ireland with its millions of followers on social media.

“Louth, home of the birthplace of the saint, is a very significant part of the story of St. Brigid.

“This year's impressive Brigid 1500 ten-day festival organised by Louth County Council, which included elements supported by my Department's Creative Ireland programme, provides further opportunities for inclusion in any future marketing campaigns and promotions of St. Brigid, whether at home or abroad, by tourism agencies.”

Deputy Ó Murchú said: “Tourism Ireland needs to play a far bigger role with regard to more joined-up thinking. None of us wants to get into a spat. Tourism Ireland needs to make sure that it is hands-on.

“We have a really good starting point. There was spectacular work done by Dundalk BIDS and by Martin McElligott and his team and we need to build on it.

“It was an absolutely fabulous event that took a huge amount of people over that period into Dundalk. It was both spectacular and enjoyable, and very positive.”

Minister Martin said Louth’s Brigid 1500 was a “remarkable project” and praised the Northern Lights event. She said: “Tourism Ireland engaged with Louth County Council to discuss its festival work programme. While logistically it was not feasible to incorporate content in the 2024 campaign, consideration can certainly be given in any future campaigns to include St. Brigid's connection with Louth.”

Deputy Ó Murchú said it was disappointing that there was not greater involvement with Dundalk and North Louth this year.

He said: “We need to make sure that we do it together, and that we sell the entirety with regard to north County Louth, Dundalk, Faughart and Kildare.”

Minister Martin said:

“It is certainly not the case that Kildare should be versus Louth or Louth versus Kildare. Both Kildare and Louth are the two key locations in the story of St. Brigid.

“By taking them together, there is potential for opening really exciting tourism possibilities for Ireland's Ancient East.”