New tourism status for town from Bord Failte

DROGHEDA has been revealed to be one of the country’s ‘Destination Towns’ under a new Fáilte Ireland scheme, a Fine Gael TD has said.

Through Destination Towns, the ‘Linking the Historic Features’ project will connect the historic features of the town including EastWest; between Old Abbey and Saint Laurence’s Gate and North-South; between Magdalene Tower and Millmount Fort.

New interpretation media will reflect and link to information available online and will be focused on three strong stories and themes relating to ‘Drogheda: Old Town Walls’, Oliver Cromwell and Saint Oliver Plunkett.

Deputy Fergus O’Dowd said: “I am absolutely delighted that Drogheda has received this new status from Fáilte Ireland.

“The Destination Town Initiative is part of the National Tourism Development Authority’s work to drive a better regional spread of overseas and domestic visitors and spend.

“The new scheme will provide funding to Louth County Council to enhance public spaces in Drogheda in a way that will engage tourists and enhance their experience.

“As we know Drogheda is a great example of a medieval Irish town and St. Laurence’s Gate is famous across Ireland as a symbol of our town.

“Now Drogheda is a thriving modern town with a plethora of fine pubs, restaurants and hotels.

“The profile of Drogheda has been greatly enhanced by the very successful of hosting Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann in 2018 and 2019.

“Tourism is a unique industry in terms of its ability to boost local job creation and sustain rural communities.

“While this new funding will benefit everyone in the town, I would like to take a moment to acknowledge to enormous efforts of local volunteers who contribute their time and efforts to enhancing Drogheda.

“The fact the town does well in Tidy Towns year after year is testament to this.

“I hope this new funding will assist in attracting more visitors to our town, so they can appreciate all Drogheda has to offer,” he said.