National treasures - Rediscover Ireland folks

The publication of the new Lonely Planet guide booklet, Discover Ireland, is a timely reminder of our own natural resources.

People may spend all their lives close to some spectacular scene but never bother to take a close look at it, except when they have some visitors who may have travelled hundreds or even thousands of miles to see it.

Every couple of years, Cork people will travel to Killarney and possibly skirt around the Ring of Kerry without ever taking a close look at what it has to offer. Likewise, Kerry people visiting Dublin may think that they have seen it all on the way to Croke Park.

How many Irish people have visited Newgrange? They would not visit Egypt without going to see the pyramids, yet most of us have probably taken Newgrange for granted, not to mention the many other examples of antiquity located throughout the island. Some are even older than the pyramids.

In the midst of the current economic downturn Irish people should take a closer look at our own treasures for a change. Our hotels should promote this by offering the kind of deals they were giving to the foreign tourists. The Irish are usually much better spenders, especially in this country, because they don’t arrive with duty-free liquor in their bags.

If we are not interested in what we have, we should not expect anyone else to be interested. More effort should be made to have the Irish holiday in Ireland, and this should be an opportunity to revitalise our tourist industry. And no volcano in Iceland is likely to delay their timely return home afterwards.