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Imelda Sings Dublin's Praises

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Fáilte Ireland has launched a new domestic marketing campaign ‘Come here to me Dublin’ which encourages those living in Dublin to visit the world-class attractions and hidden gems of their home city. The campaign features one of Dublin’s most distinctive voices, singer Imelda May.

This campaign is part of the National Tourism Development Authority’s strategy to encourage people to stay at home and explore Ireland this year. The ‘Come here to me Dublin’ campaign specifically aims to drive greater footfall to businesses across Dublin that have been significantly impacted by Covid-19.

Fáilte Ireland is investing €750,000 in the multi-channel ‘Come here to me Dublin’ campaign. The campaign will target Dubliners as they plan their summer activities to get out and about in Dublin by inspiring them with the breadth of experiences the city and county has to offer.

Speaking about the ‘Come here to me Dublin’, Imelda May said:

“I Love Dublin, my hometown, my hearttown. Where else do you get the choice of city, sea, rivers, canals, mountains, even lakes all just a short journey from each other? Ancient landmarks, modern structures, music, art, fashion, food, dancing and a good session always at the ready. Dublin is a rare capital city full of stories, characters and friendly banter.

Travel Collapse in June

Ireland experience a collapse in international travel in the month of June, the latest Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures reveal. visitors0919

The number of people arriving in Ireland and the number of people leaving fell sharply last month, both declining by more than 95%. This is in line with global travel trends caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.There were just 57,100 arrivals in June 2020 and 73,900 departures. In stark contrast, in June 2019, there were two million passengers in each direction.

Bewley's €749K Rent Deal

Bewley’s has agreed to pay more than €749,000 in rent arrears and interest costs to the landlord of its cafe on Grafton Street. bewleys

However, the company has yet to provide Ronan Group Real Estate, which is controlled by property developer Johnny Ronan, with a date for reopening the cafe, which has been shut since March 16th.

This is one of the conditions RGRE wants met before agreeing to withdraw legal proceedings in relation to the arrears.

Bewley’s has agreed to pay arrears of €732,000 and interest of € 17,422 to RGRE by July 31st. It has also agreed to pay RGRE’s legal costs although a sum has not yet been agreed by the two parties.

In a statement to The Irish Times, Bewley’s said it had “commenced initial planning for the reopening” of the Grafton Street cafe.

'Road Trip' yarn for Germans

Tourism Ireland in Frankfurt has teamed up with four well-known travel writers in Germany, in a fun new initiative to keep Ireland ‘front-of-mind’ with prospective German visitors for future holidays. galway0918

The initiative involves the creation of a series of stories about two fictional German characters, Marie and Moritz, who’re taking a road trip around the island of Ireland. Each travel writer must continue the tale from where the previous writer finishes – bringing readers on a new and exciting adventure with Marie and Moritz, while incorporating as many of our top attractions and experiences into the stories as possible. The serialised story features the many characters they meet and the various places they visit along the way.

Tourism Ireland is calling on its fans and followers on social media to get involved! For example, they’ve been asked to vote for their favourite saying from the island of Ireland and their favourite food from Ireland – and the next writer must then incorporate the most popular into the subsequent episode of the series.

Shelbourne removes Slave statues

The Shelbourne Hotel has removed two statues of manacled slave girls which have stood outside the hotel for the last 153 years.

The statues were removed on Monday as a result of the 'Black Lives Matter' protests, which have highlighted the number of statues to slaves or slave owners in cities around the shelbourne 1117

world.

Four bronze statues were commissioned by the Shelbourne Hotel’s original owner in 1867. They depict two Nubian princesses from east Africa and their slave girls holding torches.

The Shelbourne Hotel, which has been situated on St Stephen’s Green since 1824, removed them on Monday in line with the decision by other bodies and local authorities to remove states relating to the slave trade.