Kells very much part of irelands ancient east

Fáilte Ireland has moved to assure the people of Kells that the town is very much part of its plans for the Ireland’s Ancient East trail.

There had been a furious reaction in Kells last week to the announcement of the trail, when it appeared Kells was left out of the marketing initiative.
Public representatives were angry that a promotional map hadn’t included the town and its ancient monastic site, nor was Kells mentioned in the initial press release from Failte Ireland.
However, Paul Keeley, director of business development with Fáilte Ireland, moved to assure the people of Kells that the town is very much part of its plans for the project.
Hugh Morris, chairman of the Kells Tourism Forum, said they had been very disappointed initially that Kells appeared to have been left out of the proposals.
“We have since been assured that Kells won’t be left out and that the initial map was just a draft document,” he said.
“We will be on day one of the tour and will be promoted as an important part of the heritage of the area,” he said.
Mr Morris said the Kells Tourism Forum would be sitting down with Failte Ireland over the coming weeks to propose a marketing strategy for the monastic town which was founded in the 5th century and was one of Ireland’s most influential monastic sites.
Paul Keely said that Kells would be very much a part of the new Fáilte Ireland initiative, which has similar scale and ambition as the Wild Atlantic Way. “With the great amount of history and heritage in Meath, 'Ireland’s Ancient East’ will allow us to seriously build on the assets we have in the county and encourage visitors not only to visit but to stay longer,” he said.
“With historical attractions such as Newgrange, the Hill of Tara, the Irish Military War Museum, Trim Castle, Martry Mill, the Kells High Crosses and St Columba’s Church – to name but a few - Meath ticks all the boxes with regard to the main themes of Ireland’s Ancient East with ancient, early Christian, medieval and Anglo-Irish sites all within reach,” he added.

 
Mr Keely said that, as with the Wild Atlantic Way, this will be an evolving project and, although the brand has been launched, the hard work now begins.
“To that end, over the next weeks and months, Fáilte Ireland will be meeting with tourism operators, local community groups and other interested parties in Meath to work with them and to bring Ireland’s Ancient East alive in this part of the region.”
Mr Keely added: “I can assure all our stakeholders in Meath that we will be doing all we can to ensure that the county, and that includes Kells, is on every visitor’s itinerary as we roll out this project overseas.”