Minister announces €2.6m festival funding

Minister of State for Tourism and Sport Michael Ring has today announced funding of €2.6m for 34 national festivals taking place all around Ireland this year.

The festivals include everything from next week’s St Patrick’s Festival in Dublin, to the Galway Arts Festival, Wexford Opera Festival, and the Cat Laughs Comedy Festival in Kilkenny.

The funding was announced as Minister Ring launched Fáilte Ireland’s 2012 Home Holiday campaign, which kicks off this weekend.

Further funding will be announced in the coming weeks for a number of additional festivals, particularly regional events.

"Tourism is key to our economic recovery and I’m especially pleased to launch such a strong package of festivals for this year. Festivals are magnets for visitors, from home and abroad, and they bring revenue and economic activity into every corner of Ireland," said Minister Ring.

"This funding is a serious investment in tourism and helps us to boost growth in a sector which already delivers jobs and almost €5 billion in revenue.

"We are also launching Fáilte Ireland’s 2012 Home Holiday campaign. I would encourage everyone to check out the action-packed festivals calendar at discoverireland.ie. Whether your taste is music, comedy or theatre, there’s something there for everybody."