Council sets aside €30k to help fund tourist and festival events
By Hayden Moore
A MAXIMUM grant of up to €7,500 can be awarded to a recipient looking to host a public festival as part of South Dublin County Council’s re-launch of their Tourism Events and Festival Grant Scheme.
After a pilot version of the programme was launched last year to relative success, with funding then of almost €25,000, applications are open once again.
Eileen Bilington (left) and Ramona Valentine at the Clondalkin Handcraft and Horticultural Show
Aimed at organisers planning to host a community event or festival, South Dublin County Council has set aside €30,000 for the funding programme this year.
Clondalkin Handcraft and Horticultural Show was one of four events to benefit from the scheme in 2018. Secretary for the show, Fiona Guinan, has spoken about the revival of the event through the grant.
“The Tourism Events and Festivals Grant was invaluable in helping the Clondalkin Handcraft and Horticultural Show to have our biggest and most successful show to date,” she said.
“We have hosted the show for the last five years, after reviving the show that ran for 30 years until the 1990s. It has grown each year with the help of many hardworking volunteers, sponsoring companies, fundraising and fantastic ongoing support from South Dublin County Council’s Dublin’s Outdoors Team.”
Other events to receive a supplement last year were Dublin’s Masters International Basketball Tournament, South Dublin on Ice and the 59th Liffey Descent.
John Walsh from Dublin’s Masters Basketball Association also explained how they were able to run their largest event to date.
He said: “This grant for our 2018 tournament enabled us to run our biggest and most successful event to date with 40 teams participating from all over the world, such as USA, UK, Russia, Australia, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Holland, Estonia, Croatia, Lithuania and Germany.
“Our Dublin Masters Basketball Tournament started in 2013 and has grown each year with the help of many hard-working volunteers, sponsoring companies, fundraising and fantastic ongoing support from SDCC.”
There are a number of areas that the Council deems as ‘priority areas’, with cultural, food, sports and activity-based tourism that aim to increase tourism included within the grant offering.
Built around supporting local business and communities to ultimately improve tourism, the maximum €7,500 will be awarded in relation to the number of spectators from out of country and overseas.
The closing date for applications is Friday, August 30 and event organisers can complete an application form online by visiting www.sdcc.ie
