Three Westmeath events have been chosen as ‘flagship events’ as part of The Gathering 2013 - Festival of the Fires at the Hill of Uisneach in May, the Joe Dolan Westmeath Bachelor Festival in Mullingar on August 2-4, and the Pan European GAA Championship in Athlone in October.
These three events have been allocated funding of €25,000 out of a total €30,000 allocated to Westmeath.
A total of 90 ‘Gathering’ events have so far been registered to take place in Westmeath, of which 36 have been granted funding by Westmeath County Council.
Gathering coordinator in Westmeath, Maurice Stenson, outlined plans for the county’s celebrations at Monday’s meeting of Westmeath County Council.
“Westmeath won’t be found wanting in contributing to the national effort. All events in Westmeath are feeding into the national template, and are registered on The Gathering website.”
He explained that The Gathering initiative is targeting an additional 325,000 overseas visitors to Ireland in the coming year, with a total of 1,322 events nationally to receive funding under the Government’s €2m Gathering Ireland Fund.
Cllr Denis Leonard said the events registered for Westmeath will show off the county in the best light.
“This is vital for the future of tourism in Westmeath, and the way we show off Westmeath in 2013 will determine the future of tourism in the county. The events in Uisneach, Mullingar, and Athlone will get a profile from it,” he said.
He also queried whether direct invitations had been issued to high profile people with Westmeath links such as Bruce Springsteen, Patrick Duffy, Niall Breslin, and Niall Horan to attend Gathering events in the county, which Mr Stenson confirmed they had.
The official launch of Westmeath’s Gathering events will take place next Thursday January 31 in the County Buildings, Mullingar. A full list of Westmeath events can be viewed at www.thegatheringireland.com
Moate Partnership Group will host a public meeting in The Grand Hotel, Moate, on Monday January 28 at 8pm to discuss the possibility of holding ‘Gathering’ events in Moate this year. All are welcome to attend.
