Tourism body allocates 65k for interpretative centre at uisneach

Fáilte Ireland has today, Wednesday, announced that it is making an allocation of €65,000, for the provision of an interpretative centre at the Hill of Uisneach.
It is also allocating €77,000 for works at Athlone Castle.
The funding is coming from Bord Fáilte’s ‘New ideas in Ancient Spaces’ Capital Grants Scheme for attractions within the Ireland’s Ancient East initiative, and the allocations have been warmly welcomed by Dáíl deputy, Robert Troy.
The funding will assist the conversion of a cottage on the site into a new visitor centre to improve the interpretation of the Hill of Uisneach, a mythological and sacred landmark of ancient Ireland which currently has no dedicated visitor interpretation or basic services on site.
The 150 acre Hill comprises two national monuments.
The grants to Athlone Castle and the Hill of Uisneach Interpretative Centre followed a call for submissions from interested parties across the region to apply under the scheme.
Speaking today, Paul Keeley, Fáilte Ireland’s Director for Business Development said: “We are working directly with businesses and communities in Westmeath to bring Ireland’s Ancient East alive locally. As an initiative firmly rooted in our past and our stories, it is vital that we bring these stories alive to take full advantage of the opportunities provided by ‘Ireland’s Ancient East to boost tourism visitors, revenue and jobs for the county.”
Launched last April, Ireland’s Ancient East is Fáilte Ireland’s latest tourism initiative and seeks to build on the wealth of historical and cultural assets in the east and south of Ireland.
The new initiative seeks to give visitors a personal experience of 5000 years of Irish history through a journey of discovery stretching from Carlingford to Cork and is intended to match and complement the Wild Atlantic Way in terms of scale and ambition.