Fáilte Ireland CEO to visit ‘model destination town’ of New Ross

Wexford man Paul Kelly will attend the official launch of the Destination Town on Thursday at Conduit Lane, prior to being given a tour of New Ross.

Destination Towns funding of €500,000 was given to New Ross Municipal District in 2019 to roll out several different urban improvement projects in the town. Funding of around €250,000 was provided by Wexford County Council.

The scheme required councils to create a sense of place in towns, attract visitors to the area and help to provide the necessary infrastructure to support regional growth in the tourism industry.

Increasing visitor dwell time by enhancing the ambiance and vitality of towns, leading to increased spend in local tourism businesses was a key component of the funding, while increasing footfall in visitor attractions and activities through improved orientation and wayfinding was another strand.

The €750,000 was used to fund an interactive tourism kiosk on the Quay in New Ross providing real-time information, multi-lingual and mobile wayfinding and booking services for events and tours, with links to long distance routes and attractions within driving distance of the town.

It also funded the town’s five murals, works in Conduit Lane including new archways, Norman flags on O’Hanrahan Bridge, other new infrastructure and street lights and painting on Sugarhouse Lane.

Heritage lighting of Floods Lane, Cooks Lane, Friary Lane, Brennan’s Lane, Conduit Lane, Sugarhouse Lane, and Lady Lane cost €87,000, €56,000 was spent on Norman murals, street nameplates cost €26,000, new street bins cost €50,000, additional works to Goat Hill cost €32,000, while the new flagpoles and Norman banners on the bridge cost €30,000.

The project also included archways, planters, painting, lanes rehabilitation, ESB works, bronze nameplates, tourist information signs, new banners for quay, lighting columns, bicycle parking, railings, pedestrian counters, benches, window boxes, bollards, the outdoor lighting of the Tholsel, Norman photo op statues and many items of civil works and maintenance and refurbishment.

The funding was provided through Wexford County Council as part of the €15.5million `Destination Towns’ initiative launched earlier this year by the National Tourism Development Authority.

New Ross Municipal district director Eamonn Hore said the project has been a great success, making positive visual impacts on the town.

“Fáilte Ireland are using New Ross in some of their presentations as an example of how a town can promote itself as a destination town. We are linking in everything together as we go along and one project has generated another project.” The latest initiative has seen around 30 Norman flags erected on newly bought poles along O’Hanrahan Bridge.

“They are the same as the crests on the wall just off Conduit Lane. They represent surnames related to New Ross and the greater Wexford area.

"If someone had a few minutes they could match their name at Conduit Lane with the crest on a flag on the bridge.” Mr Hore said the flags add to the town’s Norman story and are very eye catching as people entered Co Wexford from the south Kilkenny, Waterford side.

Panels in lamp posts will feature Norman and other images including President John F Kennedy, the Ros Tapestries, Hook Lighthouse and other tourist destinations.

New Ross Municipal District cathaoirleach, Cllr Michael Sheehan said: “This has been a huge win for the town which is certainly turning a corner. There is a huge amount of innovation going on in New Ross and this Thursday is another milestone on that journey.”