Portlaoise to get new signs for the culturally curious great escapers
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Laois County Council has budgeted to spend €50,000 on a project to direct visitors around Portlaoise and tell them more about the town s history.
The council has invited firms to bid for a research, scripting, planning and design wayfinding and interpretation signage contract for Portlaoise.
Companies will be asked to focus on the historic core area of Portlaoise under the project which is funded by Failte Ireland under the Destination Towns Programme.
The council wants designs for placemaking at the entrance to three medieval laneways branching off Main Street – integrating archways on both ends of Pepper’s Lane (Main Street and Lyster Square) and archways on both ends of Lyster Lane (Main Street and Lyster Square) and a wall plaque/freestanding sign as appropriate at Bull Lane. The council already has a plan for the lanes.
An offer of €5,000 towards the costs of the Ros Tapestry building in New Ross is only one third of what is required, councillors said at Wednesday s New Ross Municipal District meeting.
Cathaoirleach Cllr Michael Whelan raised the matter, saying: I and other councillors made representations on behalf of the Ros Tapestry to the economic section. They didn t get all of what they wanted but a substantial amount of money and help in reducing their costs. Unfortunately it has been a tough year for all tourist attractions in the town and in our area.
Cllr Pat Barden said: €5,000 from the economic department isn t much when we re spending €725,000 on our destination towns project and several more major projects are being financed. This project is looking for €15,000 which is absolutely buttons. I cannot see how the offer of €5,000 would be looked at favourably. We need to look after this project which is very important for the town. They are in Kilkenny at the moment. They ar
Tourism businesses fear recovery could take years
Updated / Sunday, 14 Feb 2021
15:22
Tom Bourke s beer garden has an uninterrupted view of Croagh Patrick.
The owner of The Towers gastropub on the Westport s quay knows this precious outdoor space is the key to his future in business, when and if he can open. I weatherproofed the garden because when Covid came I lost one third of my indoor seating, he told RTÉ’s This Week.
Tom put down an astroturf floor and put up a stretch tent to cover part of the garden. He also installed heating and lighting, extending his gastropub by a further 80 seats.
But only 29pc actually took a holiday.”
Mr Tracey was one of the speakers at ‘Survive to Thrive’, a virtual event organised by Fáilte Ireland and attended by over 5,000 Irish tourism and hospitality representatives today.
With 2021 increasingly looking like another year of the staycation, Mr Tracey announced a €6m “heavyweight domestic ad campaign to encourage people to ‘Keep Discovering’ when the time is right.
“We don’t want people to take just one break in 2021, we need them to take multiple breaks,” he said.
The campaigns are ready to go, but providing any kind of timeline for planning or forecasting remains “nigh-on impossible”, added Paul Kelly, Fáilte Ireland’s CEO.