New tour operators in Lissadell visit this week

Sligo’s top visitor attraction will play host to an influential party of leading tour operators this Wednesday evening as its owners seek to bring even more tourists to the venue in 2018.

“We’re inviting some 35 tour operators who have never been to Sligo before and apart from the business this will bring to Sligo this week it will also ensure there will many more visitors to the county next year,” said Constance Cassidy who owns the period home with her husband, Eddie.

The barrister couple bought Lissadell House from the GoreBooth family in 2003 but following a legal dispute with Sligo County Council over rights of way, it closed to the public in 2009 for five years. It re-opened in June 2014 and has been consistently Sligo’s most popular tourist destination. It has also been home to several exhibitions and displays while its gardens have also proven to be extremely popular. The workshop with the tour operators from counties such as Dublin, Kerry, Limerick and Clare will hopefully break new ground in bringing group tours from these areas, said Ms Cassidy.

She pointed out how Sligo had so much to offer in terms of attractions many of which were free such as Glencar waterfall, Model Niland Centre, Yeats Building and the resting place of poet W. B. Yeats at Drumcliffe. The workshop is being run with the help of Sligo BID.