Second phase of national festivals funding along with investment in over 200 regional events will assist visitor growth across the country throughout 2016
The Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Michael Ring TD, has today (Friday) announced that funding of over €1 million is to be allocated to 218 national and regional festivals and events by Fáilte Ireland, under its 2016 Festivals and Events Programme. This investment includes almost €325,000 for the second phase of funding of large national festivals as well as just under €695,000 for smaller regional events.
Announcing the grants, Minister Ring explained the significance of such funding for tourism: “The funding announced today will allow counties across the country to broaden their appeal to overseas visitors and attract visitors who are actively seeking to fully experience Ireland in all its aspects - from culture and sport, to festivals and fun.”
“Festivals and events are the life-blood of tourism and mobilise many visitors to choose to come to Ireland in the first instance. With this funding, we can provide the magnets for tourism activity – throughout the country and throughout the year – which will sustain jobs and generate revenue for many rural communities.”
The approved festivals being funded by Fáilte Ireland under the second phase of its National Programme for Festivals and Events include:
- Dublin Theatre Festival - €45,000
- Dublin Fringe Festival - €25,000
- Kilkenny Arts Festival - €65,000
- Cat Laughs - €30,000
- Guinness Cork Jazz Festival - €35,000
- Cork Film Festival - €15,000
- Kilkenomics - €20,000
- Dingle Marathon - €10,000
- Rose of Tralee - €30,000
- Clifden Arts Festival - €14,000
- Galway International Oyster Festival - €35,000
A full list of the 207 regional festivals allocated funding can be found in the notes to editor.
As well as attracting visitors, festivals are important in terms of generating employment and community engagement. The objective of Fáilte Ireland’s 2016 National Festivals Programme is to drive growth from key overseas markets through compelling experiences that are attractive to our target audiences and to generate additional overseas visitors across the country and across the calendar year.
Shaun Quinn, CEO of Fáilte Ireland, stressed the importance of festivals for Ireland and the tourism sector: “While recent tourism performance from overseas markets has been encouraging, we are determined to build on this momentum to drive and sustain economic growth. Ensuring that Ireland is offering compelling reasons for overseas visitors to choose Ireland, our festivals calendar plays an important role in ensuring that we have a varied and attractive menu of things to see and do for tourists. These festivals, both national and regional, that we are supporting today will provide the backbone to this year’s tourism event calendar and add to our ability to grow overseas visitors and revenue.”
Find out more about Fáilte Ireland’s National Festival Programme.
Link to first phase of national funding in 2016 can be found here
Note for editors:
Regional Funding Allocation
Name | County | 2016 Grant Recommendation |
Dublin Culture Night | Dublin | €10,000 |
Offset | Dublin | €5,000 |
Dublin Gallery Weekend | Dublin | €10,000 |
Lingo | Dublin | €4,000 |
Barber Cut Dublin | Dublin | €3,000 |
Dublin Dance Festival | Dublin | €3,000 |
Dublin Port Riverfest | Dublin | €2,500 |
John Ford Ireland | Dublin | €3,000 |
Dalkey Lobster Festival | Dublin | €3,000 |
Dublin Bay Prawn Festival | Dublin | €5,000 |
Dine in Dublin | Dublin | €2,000 |
Dalkey Book Festival | Dublin | €5,000 |
Howth Mid Summer Literary Festival | Dublin | €3,000 |
International Literature Festival Dublin | Dublin | €7,500 |
Bloomsday (DunLaoghaire) | Dublin | €3,000 |
Mountains to Sea DLR Book Festival | Dublin | €3,000 |
Phoenix Park Motor Races | Dublin | €3,000 |
Dublin Bowie Festival | Dublin | €3,000 |
Dublin International Piano Festival | Dublin | €3,000 |
Hard Working Class Heros | Dublin | €4,000 |
You Bloom | Dublin | €3,000 |
Dun Laoghaire Tribute Music Festival | Dublin | €3,000 |
Dublin Blues, Roots and Brass Festival | Dublin | €4,000 |
Dublin Rock N Roll Festival | Dublin | €3,000 |
Canalphonics Music & Culture Festival | Dublin | €7,000 |
Bloom Fringe | Dublin | €4,000 |
Festival of Curiosity | Dublin | €4,000 |
BlueFire Street Festival | Dublin | €4,000 |
View TempleBar Arts & Politics Weekend | Dublin | €3,000 |
Intl Dublin Gay Theatre Festival | Dublin | €3,000 |
Dublin Battle for the Bay | Dublin | €10,000 |
Irish Cruiser Racing Assoc Ntl C'ships | Dublin | €2,000 |
Carlow Arts Festival | Carlow | €5,000 |
Carlow Garden Festival | Carlow | €2,500 |
Borris House Festival of Writing | Carlow | €2,500 |
Pan Celtic International Festival | Carlow | €7,000 |
Taste of Cavan | Cavan | €4,000 |
Feile Brian Boru | Clare | €3,000 |
Cork Midsummer Festival | Cork | €18,000 |
Irish Redhead Convention | Cork | €2,000 |
Racing Home for Easter | Cork | €2,000 |
Cork Craft Design | Cork | €3,000 |
Midleton Food & Drink Festival | Cork | €2,000 |
Cork Harbour Fest & Ocean to City Race | Cork | €5,000 |
Cork Folk Festival | Cork | €5,000 |
Waterfront Adventure Race | Cork | €2,000 |
Cork Week 2016(Crosshaven) | Cork | €3,000 |
TriAthy | Kildare | €2,000 |
An Post Rás mBan 2016 | Kilkenny | €2,000 |
Subtitle European Film Festival | Kilkenny | €4,000 |
Savour Kilkenny | Kilkenny | €4,000 |
Kilkenny Roots Festival | Kilkenny | €4,000 |
Lakelands International Food Fest | Longford | €2,500 |
Carlingford Oyster Festival | Louth | €2,000 |
Irish Maritime Festival | Louth | €5,000 |
Guth Gafa Film Festival | Meath | €4,000 |
Battle of Kells | Meath | €2,000 |
Hay Festival Kells | Meath | €4,000 |
Monaghan Rhythm & Blues | Monaghan | €2,000 |
Irish Game & Country Fair | Offaly | €7,000 |
Clonmel Junction | Tipperary | €3,000 |
Terryglass Arts Company | Tipperary | €3,000 |
SPLEODAR | Tipperary | €1,500 |
Thurles Sports Fest | Tipperary | €1,000 |
Glen of Aherlow Walking Festivals | Tipperary | €1,000 |
Optimist Class Nat C'Ships | Tipperary | €3,000 |
Imagine Arts Festival | Waterford | €3,000 |
Waterford Festival of Food | Waterford | €5,000 |
Waterford Harvest | Waterford | €3,000 |
IMMRAMA | Waterford | €2,000 |
Lismore Music Festival | Waterford | €5,000 |
Athlone River & Food | Westmeath | €2,000 |
Uisneach Bealtaine Celebrations | Westmeath | €3,000 |
Rockin' Food Festival | Wexford | €2,000 |
New Ross Piano Festival | Wexford | €2,000 |
Wexford Spiegeltent | Wexford | €4,000 |
Irish-American Festival | Wexford | €2,000 |
Wexford Fringe Festival | Wexford | €4,000 |
Quest Glendalough | Wicklow | €3,000 |
Enduro World Series | Wicklow | €7,000 |
Bray Jazz | Wicklow | €2,000 |
Groove Festival | Wicklow | €2,000 |
Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking Festival | Clare | €5,000 |
Ennis Trad Fest | Clare | €3,000 |
Tour de Burren | Clare | €2,500 |
Shannonside Winter Music Festival | Clare | €2,000 |
Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy | Clare | €3,000 |
Scarriff Harbour Festival | Clare | €1,000 |
Granfondo Hibernia | Clare | €2,500 |
Ennis Book Club Festival | Clare | €2,000 |
Ennis Street Festival | Clare | €2,000 |
The Outing Lisdoonvarna | Clare | €3,000 |
Burren Food Trail Programme | Clare | €8,000 |
Summer on the West Cork Islands | Cork | €2,000 |
West Cork Rally | Cork | €3,000 |
Jim Dowling Uileann Pipe & Trad Music Festival | Cork | €3,000 |
Masters of Tradition | Cork | €3,000 |
A Taste of West Cork | Cork | €10,000 |
Fastnet Film Festival | Cork | €3,000 |
Schull Blueway Kayaking Festival | Cork | €2,000 |
Cape Clear Island Storytelling Festival | Cork | €5,000 |
Medley of Festivals on Wild Atlantic Way | Cork | €3,000 |
Transatlantic Connections Conference | Donegal | €2,000 |
All Ireland Coastal Rowing Championships | Donegal | €5,000 |
Ceol na Coille | Donegal | €2,500 |
MacGill Summer School | Donegal | €2,500 |
CranaFest | Donegal | €3,000 |
Mary from Dungloe | Donegal | €3,000 |
Johnny Doherty Music and Dancing Festival | Donegal | €3,000 |
Kilcar Fleadh | Donegal | €2,500 |
A Taste of Donegal | Donegal | €8,000 |
Ballyshannon Folk Festival | Donegal | €2,500 |
Cup of Tae Festival | Donegal | €2,000 |
Allingham Festival | Donegal | €1,000 |
Oideas Gael | Donegal | €2,000 |
Ardara Festivals | Donegal | €2,000 |
Extreme North Sports Events | Donegal | €2,500 |
Connemarathon | Galway | €2,500 |
2nd FIPS Mouche World Masters Fly Fishing Champs | Galway | €10,000 |
Baboro International Arts Festival For Children | Galway | €2,000 |
Atlantic Headland | Galway | €2,000 |
Cruinniu na mBad | Galway | €2,000 |
Galway Food Festival | Galway | €5,000 |
Vodafone Comedy Carnival | Galway | €3,000 |
Inish Island Conversations | Galway | €1,000 |
Galway International Marathon | Galway | €2,500 |
Tour de Conamara | Galway | €2,500 |
Connemara Mussel Festival | Galway | €4,000 |
Galway Cup | Galway | €4,000 |
Clarinbridge Oyster Festival | Galway | €5,000 |
Inisbofin Island Spring Festivals | Galway | €3,000 |
Aras Eanna Arts Festival | Galway | €2,000 |
Connemara Bog and Sea Weeks | Galway | €3,000 |
Puck Fair | Kerry | €3,000 |
Sneem Storytelling Festival | Kerry | €3,000 |
Quest Killarney | Kerry | €2,000 |
Tralee 800 | Kerry | €3,000 |
Dingle International Film Festival | Kerry | €3,000 |
Scoil Cheoil an Earraigh | Kerry | €2,500 |
The Gathering | Kerry | €3,000 |
Comórtas Peile Páidí Ó Se | Kerry | €3,000 |
Killarney Festival of Trees | Kerry | €2,000 |
Kerry Film Festival | Kerry | €3,000 |
Killarney Adventure Race | Kerry | €3,000 |
Run Killarney | Kerry | €2,000 |
Charlie Chaplin Film Festival | Kerry | €3,000 |
Feile na Bealtaine | Kerry | €3,000 |
Ring of Beara Cycle | Kerry | €2,500 |
Listowel Military Tattoo | Kerry | €2,000 |
Feile Lughnasa | Kerry | €2,000 |
Halloween Howl | Kerry | €2,000 |
Cahirciveen Festival of Music and the Arts | Kerry | €2,000 |
Nollaig Neidin | Kerry | €2,000 |
Dingle Food Festival | Kerry | €7,000 |
Feile Neidin | Kerry | €3,000 |
Kfest Killorglin | Kerry | €3,000 |
Dingle Tradfest | Kerry | €3,000 |
Valentia Transatlantic Cable Festival | Kerry | €3,000 |
Open Air Cinema | Kerry | €1,000 |
Circuit Déja Vu | Kerry | €3,000 |
Portmagee Annual Workshop | Kerry | €2,500 |
Limerick Sings International Choral Festival | Limerick | €3,000 |
EVA International | Limerick | €4,000 |
Foynes Air Show | Limerick | €4,000 |
Pig n Porter Tag Rugby Festival | Limerick | €2,500 |
Knights of Westfest | Limerick | €3,000 |
Great Limerick Run | Limerick | €2,500 |
Westport Folk & Bluegrass Festival | Mayo | €2,000 |
Ballina Salmon Festival | Mayo | €5,000 |
Mayo International Choral Festival | Mayo | €3,000 |
Erris Beo | Mayo | €3,500 |
Soil Acla Summer School | Mayo | €2,500 |
Ballina Food Fleadh | Mayo | €2,500 |
French Mayo Festival | Mayo | €2,500 |
Heinrich Boll Weekend | Mayo | €1,000 |
Samhainn Amhainn | Mayo | €2,500 |
Westport Arts Festival | Mayo | €3,000 |
Mayo Manchester Tradfest | Mayo | €3,000 |
In Humberts Footsteps | Mayo | €5,000 |
Quest Achill | Mayo | €2,000 |
Westport Festival of Chamber Music | Mayo | €2,000 |
Achill Battle for the Burning Lake | Mayo | €2,500 |
Wild Atlantic Way Audax | Mayo | €2,500 |
South Sligo Summer School | Sligo | €1,000 |
Sligo Summer Fest | Sligo | €1,500 |
Sligo International Choral Festival | Sligo | €3,000 |
Irelands Women: Revolution & Rememberance | Sligo | €1,000 |
So Sligo Food Festival | Sligo | €3,000 |
Celtic Fringe Festival | Sligo | €2,000 |
Rosses Point Shanty Festival | Sligo | €3,000 |
Sligo Jazz Festival | Sligo | €2,000 |
Tread Softly Yeats Arts Festival | Sligo | €2,000 |
Yeats International Summer School | Sligo | €2,500 |
Sligo Live | Sligo | €20,000 |
Cos Cos Sean Nos Festival | Sligo | €1,500 |
Sligo Lunasa Festival | Sligo | €1,000 |
Mullaghamore Harbour Music & Food Festival | Sligo | €1,000 |
An Post Yeats Tour of Sligo | Sligo | €2,500 |
Irish Fashion and Food Summit | Sligo | €2,000 |
Yeats Day | Sligo | €5,000 |
Carrick Water Music Festival | Leitrim | €2,000 |
9th FIPS World Championshops Boat Angling | Roscommon | €8,000 |
Boyle Arts Festival | Roscommon | €3,000 |
Percy French Festival | Roscommon | €2,000 |
O'Carolan Harp Festival | Roscommon | €2,500 |
Great Lighthouses of Ireland Shine a Light on Summer | Multi | €6,000 |
Hell and Back | Multi | €2,000 |
National Festivals
Dublin Theatre Festival
Established in 1957, Dublin Theatre Festival is the oldest English speaking theatre festival in the world. Showcasing 18 days of world class Irish and International theatre productions in a range of venues along with a programme of discussions, talks, workshops and family events
Tiger Dublin Fringe Festival
Tiger Dublin Fringe (TDF) is home to bold ideas, brave performing arts and adventurous audiences, a multi-disciplinary festival and a flagship Irish cultural entity, Fringe is an incubator for excellence and innovation in new Irish arts, with 65+ theatre, dance, comedy, music, circus and spectacle-based events premiering annually.
Kilkenny Arts Festival
Run over ten days the festival presents an arts programme specialising in classical music, musical collaborations, open-air theatre, and poetry in a wide range of settings, including many of the city’s historic venues such as Kilkenny Castle, Rothe House, St. Canices Cathedral, Butler House and the six historic walled gardens in the city.
Sky Cat Laughs Comedy Festival
An annual comedy festival in Kilkenny, running since 1996. A platform for emerging and established Irish comedians, as well as a showcase for international comedians. The programme is made up of comedy shows, afterparties, comedians football match and family events.
Guinness Cork Jazz Festival
The Guinness Cork Jazz Festival presents the cream of jazz and jazz-related music to enthusiastic home and overseas fans. Over 1,000 musicians participate in 400+ sessions in Cork City and in satellite areas such as Kinsale. It delivers a unique experience for festival visitors - showcasing the city sights to the music and superb festival ambience.
Cork Film Festival
For 60 years Cork Film Festival has been promoting the medium of cinema to a local, national and international audience. It is a festival that seeks to entertain and challenge its audience as well as celebrate the city of Cork, its culture, beautiful surroundings and individual atmosphere. The festival embraces the advances in contemporary cinema, music and technology as well as reflecting the quality tradition of cinema that has gone before,
Kilkenomics
A festival of economic discussion, debates and talks that uses comedy entertainment to make the subject matter more accessible and engaging. Europe’s first economics festival which brings together some of the world’s leading economists, financial analysts and media commentators with some of Ireland’s funniest, sharpest stand-up comedians.
Dingle Marathon
Dingle Half and Full Marathon has become one of the most popular running events in Ireland. The event is set in spectacular scenery with the running route traversing Slea Head, Dingle. This is the only day in the year when vehicular traffic is removed from Slea Head immersing runners in the natural beauty of Dingle.
Rose of Tralee
The Rose of Tralee International Festival is now in its 56th year. Participants, their family & friends experience Tralee and the beauty of Kerry. Visitors attend conferences, showcases, banquets, street shows, live theatre, concerts from Irish & International Acts. The festival culminates in the selection of the new Rose of Tralee.
Clifden Arts Festival
Beginning as a community festival in 1977, the festival has grown into a ten day offering featuring a diverse programme of performance, literature, visual arts and culture with over 100 free and ticketed events. The festival includes theatre, Irish and international poets and writers, an extensive visual arts programme, street theatre, children’s events culminating in a Grand Parade on the last weekend.
Galway International Oyster Festival
A celebration of the Irish oyster. The programme features a Seafood Trail, food talks, tasting events, Mardi Gras Gala Event along with family activities, live music, cooking demonstrations and more. The culmination of the festival is the Irish and World Oyster Opening Championships in the Festival Marquee.