TD praises organisers as he opens 20th festival

The Kells Heritage Festival was officially opened on Thursday by Deputy Dominic Hannigan who said it was a vibrant showcase for community talent. Deputy Hannigan congratulated everyone involved the organisation of this, the 20th Kells Heritage Festival. "The people of Kells want to celebrate their town and they want to do it together. This great festival would not be what it is without the involvement of the local community and their obvious enthusiasm for it," he said. Speaking at the opening ceremony in the town hall, Deputy Hannigan said driving job creation in Meath is one of his priorities. "One of the key areas for job creation is tourism, and specifically heritage tourism. The tourism incentive measures announced as part of the government's recent jobs initiative are not a silver bullet but they do give towns like Kells a chance to encourage more tourists to stop and take in the beauty of the town," he said. Deputy Hannigan praised the tremendous voluntary effort made by the people of Kells in organising the festival. "It shows what can be achieved when a community works together. I particularly want to say a sincere word of thanks and congratulations to Jess Olohan, Robert Flanagan, Francis Monaghan and Eamon Cooke, all of whom are stepping down after 20 years working with the festival," he added. Deputy Hannigan said Kells will feature prominently on a new Bord Failte Boyne Valley driving route to be launched later this year. "Kells is one of the main stops on the map, which signposts the round tower and high crosses in particular. This is a welcome initiative and one that all local businesses can get behind." The Labour TD also commented on the town's market days. "They are a fun and vibrant way of showcasing the talent and ambition of small producers in the community. Growing foreign markets for local food producers is one of the government's priorities. Our exports have been performing extremely well and we can capitalise on the great marketability that locally produced Irish food has," he said. A keen walker, Deputy Hannigan chose the heritage walks around the ring forts, Tower of Loyd and river walk as the festival events which particularly appealed most to him. "I want to take this opportunity, on its 20th anniversary, to wish the Kells festival, and its hard-working organisers, many more successful years to come," he concluded.