Athlone Castle and River Shannon to feature on new TV advertisement

A new Failte Ireland TV advertisement will prominently feature Athlone Castle and boating along the River Shannon waterway as part of a new €2m home holiday campaign running in Spring and Autumn, Longford/Westmeath TD Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran has learned.

The TV advert will air on RTE, Channel Four and Sky TV over the next two weeks, beginning today, as well as featuring on the TV’s websites. Athlone and the River Shannon will also feature heavily in accompanying online advertising including sponsored content on the Irish Independent’s digital platforms.

Deputy Moran met with new Failte Eireann chief, Paul Kelly, at Government buildings recently to discuss the tourist organisation’s plans for the Westmeath, Roscommon and Longford areas.

“I have been in regular contact with senior Failte Ireland personnel on the necessity to prioritise the potential that Westmeath, Longford and Roscommon have for tourism growth and I welcome the Mr Kelly’s strong support of this strategy.”

“Failte Ireland is also providing a wide range other supports to counties along the River Shannon throughout 2017, including 11 festivals from Cavan to Killaloe that will receive financial support to the tune of €30.5k under the Regional Festival Funding Initiative in 2017,” said Deputy Moran.

Two additional projects were also funded in 2016, including Athlone Castle (€76.5k) and the Hill of Uisneach Visitor Centre (€65k).

“Failte Ireland also confirmed that they are building on the strong relationship with local tourism industry groups including the Irish Boat Rental Association (IBRA), the local authorities, Leader Groups and Waterways Ireland to sustain tourism growth in the region,” said Deputy Moran.