A Cork town is set to unveil a statue of its most famous son to celebrate The Gathering.

A direct descendant of the man who first raised the tricolour and proclaimed it to be our national flag will return to his great-great-grandfather’s home city next month.

Cork tourism is expected to receive a significant boost as a result of the Gathering this year, as confidence in the Irish tourism industry is at its highest since 2007.

President Michael D Higgins has defended actor Gabriel Byrne as a fine ambassador for Ireland in the wake of his controversial remarks about The Gathering.