Morning Focus Friday January 18

Friday’s Morning Focus came live from the Clare Tourism Forum’s annual conference at the Falls Hotel, Ennistymon

Marian Egan was joined by the Chairperson of the Clare Tourist Council Flan Garvey, Antrim Hotelier John Mooney and Michelle Moroney, Secretary of the Clare Tourist Council to discuss this year’s theme ‘Tourism in Recessionary Times’ 

North West MEP Pat The Cope Gallagher is performing the official opening of the conference on Friday afternoon
He spoke with Marian about Ireland’s EU Presidency, how the Gathering is viewed from broader Europe and

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Claire Bradshaw of the Titanic Centre in Belfast joined Marian
Titanic Belfast is an iconic six-floor building opened for Titanic’s centenary 
Visitors will learn about the construction of RMS Titanic and the wide and rich story of Northern Ireland’s industrial and maritime heritage
Titanic Belfast’s nine interpretative and interactive galleries explore the sights, sounds, smells and stories of Titanic, as well as the city and people which made her

Katherine Webster of the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Experience also popped in for a chat
Visitor numbers at the Cliffs of Moher visitor attraction in County Clare increased by 8% during 2012Figures released today show that visitor numbers hit 873,988 last year, representing an increase of almost 65,000 visitors on the overall figure for 2011

Throughout 2013, Ireland is opening its arms to hundreds of thousands of friends and family from all over the world, calling them home to gatherings in villages, towns and cities
Over 70 million people worldwide claim Irish ancestry- the Gathering Ireland 2013 provides the perfect excuse to reach out to those who have moved away, their relatives, friends and descendants, and invite them home
Marian Egan spoke with Jim Miley, Project Director of The Gathering 2013 and asked him how it’s going so far

Chairperson of the Clare Gathering Steering Committee Ger Dollard  joined Marian to give a general overview at the start on what the Clare Gathering Steering Committee is doing
Clare Gathering Programme – we have been covering some individual events eg. Clan gatherings
 
Celebrities with Clare connections have been lined up to participate in the official launch of the Gathering Clare 2013 at the Gathering Clare Festivals & Events Expo in Glór, Ennis, on Sunday 27 January from 2 pm to 6pm
Members of the public are being invited to attend the free event which will feature exhibits of 100 of the estimated 250 Gathering festivals and events taking place throughout County Clare during 2013
Maureen Cleary, Clare Tourism Forum Marketing Executive, explained and encouraged people to come along.
 
Tracey Crawford is a member of Clare Steering Group for The Gathering
She’s behind the Ennis Love Live Music- an authentic rural experience in the boutique town of Ennis, Co. Clare – the home of traditional Irish music 21st -23rd June 
This event was awarded €15,000 in funding yesterday

Sharon Meaney of the Clare Volunteer Centre spoke about leading on the “Clare’s in Clare initiative”
They are trying to achieve a world record for the most people named Clare/Claire/Clair in the one place in Clare
 
Peter Curtin of the Burren Tolkien Society spoke about the Burren Tolkien Convention that will take place next May in County Clare, as part of The Gathering 2013
It aims to highlight Tolkien’s many visits to the Burren and how the region inspired his most famous writings
This project was awarded €5,000 in funding yesterday

Pat Hayes, Chairperson of East Clare Tourism spoke about their event that was awarded €5,000 funding yesterday
The Feakle Music Festival Committee are organising a workshop/conference entitled: ‘The Therapeutic Effects of Irish Music on the Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease’ which will take place on 5th & 6th of August

Siobhan Garvey – Marketing and Development Officer for Kilrush Town Council- she also joined Marian
Earlier this week Kilrush was named as host of the National Famine Commemoration in 2013
Clare County Council and Kilrush Town Council had jointly submitted a bid to bring the event to Kilrush, which was one of the worst affected during the famine
A date for the main commemoration event has yet to be announced, but the news that Kilrush has been recognised has been warmly welcomed.

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