New trails part of evolving Fáilte Ireland and Dublin City Council ‘Dubline’ project to bring Dublin’s past alive and open up hidden parts of the city The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Christy Burke, and the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Paschal Donohoe TD, recently officially launched Fáilte Ireland’s Dublin Discovery Trails – the first in a new series of themed walking trails in Dublin City. Connected to the Dubline, the tourist trail (from Kilmainham Gaol, via Trinity College, to Parnell Square) already developed by Fáilte Ireland and Dublin City Council, the new routes are intended to further open up the city and provide more ways for visitors to explore some of the city’s most interesting historic sites and attractions.
The four new tourist routes are:
- Rebellion: retracing the dramatic events of the Easter Rising 1916 and hear how these six days changed the course of Irish history with stops including Dublin Castle, Trinity College, the General Post Office and the Garden of Remembrance;
- The Story of Dublin: will take visitors on a thrilling journey through Dublin’s 1000 year history with stops including City Hall, Christ Church Cathedral, St. Audoen’s Church and Smock Alley Theatre;
- Echoes of War: will allow visitors to explore Kilmainham and the surrounding parklands and discover moving stories of war and rebellion with stops including the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Kilmainham Gaol, the Irish National War Memorial Gardens and Collins Barracks;
- Empire: will take visitors back in time to the busy streets of Dublin when it was one of the most important Cities in the British Empire with stops including Dublin Castle, Bank of Ireland and St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
Launching the new routes, the Lord Mayor, Christy Burke, said:
“Dublin is rich in history and has a wealth of stories to tell. However, we sometimes take this for granted and expect our visitors to easily find this for themselves. These trails, complementing the ‘Dubline’, will open up the story of Dublin and make it more accessible to our visitors. We have a great story to tell and this initiative will allow us to tell it well.”
The new walking trails are also accessible for visitors through Fáilte Ireland’s newly developed Dublin Discovery Trails app. This free app is available to download for iOS and Android devices, and gives visitors the chance to uncover the compelling stories of Dublin’s culture, heritage and history through a series of engaging audio guides enriched with commentary, personal accounts, images and GPS-enabled maps with the route and stops clearly marked on them.
Welcoming the benefit of the trails and apps, Minister Donohoe pointed out:
“Visitors get the most out of a destination when they have the tools and assistance which help them to explore a new place for themselves. In the 21st Century, this has to include multi-media guides and apps. Therefore, I’m delighted with this initiative today which not only opens up my own native Dublin to tourists but does so with great story-telling and the latest in technology. I am confident that these trails will not just drive greater traffic around the city but will encourage visitors to slow down and spend longer while here. That’s good news for tourism activity, revenue and jobs in the local economy.”
The four new Dublin Discovery Trails launched today are based along the ‘spine’ of the Dubline. The Dubline extends from Kilmainham Gaol to Trinity College, across the River Liffey and northwards to Parnell Square and has been developed, by Fáilte Ireland, to be an easy way for visitors to explore the city and its stories. Over the last two years, Fáilte Ireland has invested €4m in a number of projects to develop and promote the Dubline in partnership with Dublin City Council, including major capital projects at Christchurch, St Patrick’s Cathedral and Dublinia. Work is currently ongoing to put in place enhanced signage, way finding and information panels along the Dubline and the Dublin Discovery Trails.
Speaking recently, Fáilte Ireland CEO Shaun Quinn emphasised:
“Dublin is doing extremely well these days in tourism terms but we believe that it has the potential to deliver much more in terms of visitors and revenue. Today’s new developments are all part of our evolving programme to make Dublin even more compelling and accessible to visitors. These new trails will enhance the experience of visitors and, in turn, will encourage them to spend longer in the area, thereby increasing footfall and spend. Importantly, by enhancing the quality of the visitor experience, developments such as these strengthen the capital’s calling card as a ‘must-visit’ destination”.
Mr Quinn added that Fáilte Ireland’s work with local stakeholders to rejuvenate Dublin’s image was ongoing with the work of the Grow Dublin Taskforce gathering momentum towards a new brand for the city and county. Mr Quinn also pointed out that Fáilte Ireland had recently launched a new state of the art tourist office, dedicated website (www.visitdublin.com) and social media campaign for Dublin. The new trails will also be promoted through all of these.
The brochures for the new Dublin Discovery Trails can be viewed here – REBELLION, STORY OF DUBLIN, ECHOES OF WAR and EMPIRE . You can download the Discover Dublin Trails app HERE. You can find out more about the Dubline [HERE].
Finally, Glorious Madness, an outdoor performance from ANU Productions, has been commissioned by Fáilte Ireland and Dublin City Council to coincide with the launch of the Dublin Discovery Trails – particularly ‘Rebellion’ which tells the story of the Easter Rising. Following on from ANU Productions recent performance centring on Gallipoli, Pals, this new production, Glorious Madness, comes to Dublin City Centre from tomorrow (Tuesday 23 June) and runs to Saturday 4 July. Running Monday to Saturday each week, the unique production explores the experiences of eye witness to the 1916 Easter Rising. For more information, you can visit here.
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Source: Failte Ireland – Discovery Trails to Bring Story of Dublin to Life for Visitors
