Viking Ragnar Olafson a comb maker who lives on the Liffey pictured ahead of National Heritage Week, which kicks off on Saturday 23rd August, and runs until Sunday 31st August. Picture: Marc O’Sullivan
Get involved and showcase your community by organising an event for National Heritage Week!
Registration is now open for the programme, which will be taking place from the 23rd to the 31st of August. Heritage Week is coordinated by the Heritage Council as part of European Heritage Days, which is celebrated in over 40 countries across Europe.
Heritage Week can give your community a great boost, as the Heritage Council’s Head of Communications and Education, Isabell Smyth pointed out: “Last year over 380,000 people attended Heritage Week events organized by some 950 event organisers. As the numbers attending and taking part have increased, so too has the level of awareness and appreciation of our national heritage… Latest tourism figures from the CSO show an increase of 7.3 % in the number of visitors to Ireland for the first three months of the year. National Heritage Week offers huge opportunities for communities to attract visitors to their area and experience the wealth of heritage, which in many cases remains unknown.”
There will be no cover charge on many of the events, as the programme aims to draw attention to Ireland’s heritage – especially that of the local community – and to make it more accessible to the general public. With this in mind, there will also be concession rates on offer at National Heritage sites during the week.
You can register your event by logging on to www.heritageweek.ie. All events must be registered by the 31st of May in order to be included in the National Heritage Week Event Guide.
By Aimée Mac Leod
