The investment has been allocated to five projects to facilitate the development of gala dinner venues of scale in four of Ireland’s business events hubs in Dublin, Kerry, the Shannon Region and Galway.
This investment will go towards the development and enhancement of the venues, to enable them to compete to win international business events for Ireland.
It is estimated that €67 million worth of incremental business events could be delivered for the country over a 5-year period on the back of this investment.
Saint Mary’s Cathedral is one of the oldest buildings in Limerick and stands in the heart of the city.
Its location, history, atmosphere and acoustics offer a unique Gala Dinner Venue, enhancing any visit to Limerick for business events delegates and resulting in a positive economic impact for the city and region.
Dean of Saint Mary’s Cathedral, The Very Revd, Niall Sloane, commented on the announcement, saying: “We are delighted to receive this welcome news and look forward to developing our offering in Limerick to the city, mid-west and the international market. This grant will help enhance our facilities in the Cathedral, our hosting of Gala Dinners is not only a benefit to Saint Mary's, but also to the local economy. We are grateful to Fáilte Ireland for this opportunity and in thanking them, I also pay tribute to our own team who have worked to bring this project to fruition.”
Minister Catherine Martin added: “The business events industry is a key component of Ireland’s tourism offering and driver of economic benefit for Ireland, with an estimated contribution of almost €800 million to our economy and supporting 20,000 jobs. Today’s investment announcement will ensure world-class venues are developed that will attract international business events to our key business events hubs. This is critical to strengthening Ireland’s reputation internationally as a leading business events destination and will have far reaching impact on Ireland’s tourism sector and the wider Irish economy.”
Gala dinners are a key component of international conferences, incentive trips, and large corporate meetings and Ireland’s current gala dinner venue offering is not sufficient to deal with demand.
The Gala Dinner Venues Investment Scheme was established to accommodate demand in the market, and to ensure the sustainable growth of business events revenue, which is central to Fáilte Ireland.
The announcement is the culmination of a competitive application process which began in 2022.
The projects receiving investment were strategically selected under strict eligibility criteria, including an ability to deliver not only on capacity but also on accessibility, in terms of their proximity to one of Ireland’s business events hubs.
The venues were also required to deliver on the ‘wow’ factor, which means they had to offer an exceptional venue, in a spectacular location, which would instantly appeal to an international audience.
The selected venues will be required to adhere to and promote sustainability best practice in the operation of the venue and should support the business events industry to deliver events complying with best practice environmental sustainability measures.
The Gala Dinner Venues Investment Scheme is a part of Fáilte Ireland’s €150 million Platforms for Growth Programme, which falls under the Government's Project Ireland 2040 strategy.
The Platforms for Growth Programme targets projects that have the greatest potential to grow tourism throughout the year.