€400k for Cavan Town 'Cultural Quarter'

 

Cavan Town will be allocated significant funding of €404,389 by Fáilte Ireland to develop its potential as a tourism ‘destination town’.

The funding has been allocated through Cavan County Council as part of the €15.5million ‘Destination Towns’ initiative launched earlier this year by the National Tourism Development Authority.

It links with €750,000 allocated to the Townhall Arts Centre and an additional €250,000 granted last year under the Urban Regeneration Development Fund to regenerate the urban centre of Cavan Town.

Through Destination Towns, the 'Cultural Quarter' project will improve the attractiveness and ‘sense of place’ in the Townhall Street and Farnham Street historic quarter of Cavan Town, as part of a plan to transform the town centre.
Plans are already in place to redevelop Market Square and link it to the Old Abbey, historic Townhall Arts Space and Townhall Street.

The process of identifying the towns that receive funding through the Destination Towns scheme commenced in mid-2019 and was led by the Local Authorities in consultation with Fáilte Ireland.

Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Brendan Griffin T.D. confirmed today that every county in Ireland will benefit and the first round of allocations, including Cavan Town, will take place from January.

The Fáilte Ireland scheme is part of the National Tourism Development Authority’s work to drive a better regional spread of overseas and domestic visitors and spend.

Through the scheme1, which was launched earlier this year, every Local Authority in the country had the opportunity to bid for funding of up to €500,000 to develop a town in the county to enable it to improve its tourism offering and make itself more attractive to visitors. The Local Authorities will also provide funding for their projects.

With Fáilte Ireland research consistently showing that attractive towns and cities are key motivators for overseas holidaymakers coming to Ireland, the new scheme will provide funding to Councils to enhance public spaces such as squares, streetscapes and markets in a way that will engage tourists and enhance their experience in key towns.

This could include spaces for food and craft markets, areas for town centre events, public art displays as well as orientation and signage to help visitors explore a town’s local heritage.

Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Shane Ross T.D., said: “Tourism’s importance as an economic driver for Ireland cannot be overstated. It sustains 260,000 jobs across the country and generates revenue in communities nationwide. Initiatives like Destination Towns, funded through the Government’s Project Ireland 2040, is a great example of how investing in infrastructure can deliver long-term economic benefits for local communities.”

Fáilte Ireland’s CEO Paul Kelly noted that towns which reap the greatest benefits from tourism and schemes like Destination Towns are those where all local tourism players work together - from Local Authorities and businesses to the communities themselves, each complementing another’s efforts to create a full and appealing offering for their area. “A core focus of Fáilte Ireland’s work is to drive a greater regional spread of visitors and revenue across the country. Initiatives like our Destination Towns scheme are critical in doing this by boosting the tourism appeal of destinations across Ireland. We’re delighted with the support from the Local Authorities and we would like to thank them for their work in putting forward such compelling cases for investment.”

The local allocations were welcomed by Heather Humphreys, Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, and Fine Gael TD for Cavan Monaghan.

She said: “The importance of tourism as an economic driver and source of employment cannot be underestimated.

“It is a unique industry in terms of its ability to spur local job creation and sustain rural communities, and the Government wants to do everything possible to support our towns to reach their full potential in this space.”

The allocation was also welcomed by Fianna Fail TD Brendan Smith, and Fine Gael Senator Joe O'Reilly who added: “I’m delighted to see Fáilte Ireland and the Local Authorities continuing to work hand-in-glove to ensure towns nationwide can fulfil their tourism potential.”