Announcing the 2019 Series, Minister Ross said “I’m delighted to see the Series return this year. The festival series enables local communities to further build upon diaspora networks and deepen connections around the world.”
Speaking about the return of the festival series Brendan Griffin, Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, said: “Following the success of the initiative last year, the Global Irish Festival Series will take place again this year in Limerick and Donegal to encourage those abroad to return home to enjoy these great festivals.”
The festival series, which was launched as a pilot initiative in 2018, will provide funding and support, through the relevant local authorities, for events which tap into international diaspora networks to increase overseas visitors.
Speaking about the festival series, Ciara Sugrue, Fáilte Ireland’s Head of Festivals, said “The development of tourism festivals is part of Fáilte Ireland’s strategy to encourage domestic and international visitors to visit areas outside of traditional tourism hotspots and outside of peak times to spread the benefits of tourism to communities throughout Ireland. The series aims to motivate diaspora to reconnect by visiting their home county and drive visitors to less visited tourism locations, creating new economic benefits for those local communities. As these events take place in the ‘shoulder seasons’ outside of summer, they will also help tourism operators to trade for longer.”
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In Limerick, the Global Irish Festival Series will support Global Limerick, featuring I.NY (Irish in New York), which runs from 12th to 20th October and the Richard Harris International Film Festival, which takes place from 22nd to 28th October. A celebration of stories, ideas, creativity, inspiration, I.NY explores the deep connection between Ireland and New York City. The Richard Harris International Film Festival marks the life and works of Limerick’s most famous actor and showcases the work of young filmmakers from all over the world, feature filmmakers from the Irish Diaspora, theatrical performers, poets, singers and writers.
Welcoming the festival series’ return to Limerick, Pat Daly, Director of Services at Limerick City and County Council, said “Limerick City and County Council is delighted to support the Global Irish Festival Series once again in 2019. We look forward to working with Fáilte Ireland, I.NY, and the Richard Harris International Film Festival to build the series into a must see/do event in Limerick this Autumn. The programmes being hosted are very exciting and will draw interest from near and far for what promises to be a great October in Limerick.”
The Series is being announced in the US on Wednesday, 5th June at the Consulate General of Ireland in New York in partnership with Tourism Ireland.
For more information on the Global Irish Festival Series, click here
For more stories on the Global Irish Festival Series, click here
