Press release
New Knowth visitor experience opens at Brú na Bóinne following €1.8m investment
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Published on
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A new visitor experience at Knowth, Co. Meath which will drive job creation and tourism recovery in the Ireland’s Ancient East region, has been officially opened today by Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sports and Media Catherine Martin TD and Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works (OPW) Patrick O’Donovan TD.
Fáilte Ireland has invested almost €1.4million into the new tourist attraction. Through the partnership with the National Monuments Service and the Office of Public Works, which manages Knowth as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Property of Brú na Bóinne, visitors to Knowth will be welcomed for a greatly extended season for the first time.
The enhanced experience includes improved interpretation to tell the story of the history of the 50-year archaeological excavation of the site by Professor George Egan, the significance of the site’s Megalithic art and its importance in national and international terms.
Fáilte Ireland estimates the development of the visitor experience at Knowth will support 266 additional jobs in the Meath area and generate €1.6million in additional tourism revenue over 5 years.
Commenting at the launch, Minister Catherine Martin said:
“Knowth is one of the most culturally significant sites in Ireland, and indeed Europe. The new visitor experience will allow domestic and international visitors to step back in time and immerse themselves in our rich Megalithic culture. This attraction will add another unique element to the tourism offering at Brú na Bóinne, encouraging more people to visit Meath and the surrounding region, and generating significant economic impact for the area.”
Minister Patrick O’Donovan said:
“Thanks to this investment, we are able to further enhance the visitor experience in the Boyne Valley by providing accessible and accurate interpretation of this prestigious archaeological site. Knowth, Newgrange and the Boyne Valley region are among Ireland’s greatest cultural and tourism gems, whose significance is known the world over. This is highlighted by the wonderful exhibition currently showing at the British Museum -The World of Stonehenge - where some of the exquisite finds from Knowth, on loan from the National Museum of Ireland, such as the Knowth macehead, the Knowth carved conical object and the Knowth stone vessel are on display. This shows the international reputation of this site and the objects uncovered.”
Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien TD said:
“The monumental landscape of Brú na Bóinne never fails to amaze. This fabulous new facility will add immensely to the experience for the hundreds of thousands who visit the World Heritage Property each year. We are sure that Professor George Eogan who led the excavations at Knowth over so many decades, and who passed away recently, would be proud of the beautiful interpretative display of his lifetime’s work.”
Paul Kelly, CEO of Fáilte Ireland added
“For tourism to recover we must have stand out attractions to entice visitors, domestic and international, to explore Ireland. I am pleased to be here at Knowth today at the opening of this significant new attraction for Meath and the wider Ireland’s Ancient East region, developed in collaboration with our strategic partners in the OPW. The new visitor experience at Knowth will attract more visitors to the region, support new jobs and has been executed in a sustainable way to ensure this historically important site is preserved for generations to come. We predict Knowth will support 266 additional jobs in the Meath area and generate €1.6million in additional tourism revenue over 5 years. It will also relieve some of the existing pressure at Newgrange by offering visitors an additional experience, as well as extending visitor dwell time in the Boyne Valley.”
Knowth, which makes up part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Brú na Bóinne, is a major repository of megalithic art, containing more than half of the known megalithic art in Europe in one single location.
The new Knowth visitor hub is a continuation of the upgraded Brú na Bóinne visitor experience offering a large digital exhibition exploring the rock art of Knowth and accompanied by engaging interactives and audio visuals. The investment includes toilets and an upgraded OPW parking facility to accommodate a new fleet of electric buses developed using sustainable tourism principles to minimise visitor impact to the site.
The new development forms the second phase of a three-phase investment worth €7m into Brú na Bóinne under a strategic partnership arrangement between Fáilte Ireland, the OPW and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. Previous investment included redevelopment of the visitor centre at Brú na Bóinne while the development of new visitor facilities at Newgrange will be completed in the final phase.
ENDS
For further information, please contact Trudi McDonald, Communications Officer Fáilte Ireland – 086 0673964 / trudi.mcdonald@failteireland.ie
Photography from the event is available from Kenneth O’Halloran Photography at kennethohalloran@gmail.com .
The OPW cares for some 1,000 monuments and historic properties in 768 locations across Ireland, ranging from Neolithic passage tombs, medieval churches and castles to Elizabethan manor houses, Palladian mansions, parks and gardens and monumental forts. As custodians of many of Ireland’s most iconic heritage sites, our role is to build a bridge between our past, present and future by connecting more people to the richness, diversity and inspiration that exist in our heritage.
The 780 ha of the World Heritage Brú na Bóinne Complex dominated by the three great burial mounds of Knowth, Newgrange and Dowth. Surrounded by about forty satellite passage graves, they constitute a funerary landscape recognised as having great ritual significance, subsequently attracting later monuments of the Iron Age, early Christian and medieval periods. This site at Knowth was first excavated by Professor George Eogan in 1962 in close cooperation with the OPW and continued for over 40 years.
To date visitors to the Complex focussed on the Newgrange site in particular. The potential to enhance the visitor experience and to increase awareness of this significant concentration of archaeological assets highlighted the need for investment in the Brú na Bóinne Complex.
Knowth is one such site and is one of the major repositories of Megalithic stone art, containing more than half of the known Stone Art of Europe in one single location. In keeping with current sustainable tourism principles, the addition of visitor facilities to the Knowth section of the Complex has significant potential to attract additional visitors, to provide an enriching and rewarding visitor experience and to relieve congestion at Newgrange.
The 1.5-acre site consists of one large mound containing two passage tombs surrounded by eighteen smaller mounds. Smaller tombs, some of which are connected to the large tomb, cluster around the great mound. There are two separate passage tombs within the largest mound, one with an entrance facing approximately east and the other facing approximately west.
Prior to investment, visitors enjoyed Knowth on a limited, seasonal basis. It was heavily dependent on guides enlivening the site and explaining its significance.
Fáilte Ireland’s role is to support the long-term sustainable growth in the economic, social, cultural, and environmental contribution of tourism to Ireland. Tourism is of critical importance to the national economy and to regional development and employment. Pre-coronavirus, the sector generated revenue of €7.5billion annually and supported 260,000 jobs nationwide while contributing €1.7billion to the Exchequer.
We work in partnership with Government, State agencies, Local Authorities, representative groups and industry, to develop tourism across Ireland by creating destination development plans and networks, investing in infrastructure, activities, visitor attractions and festivals. Fáilte Ireland also provides consumer and buyer insights, mentoring, business supports and training programmes and buyer platforms to help tourism businesses innovate and grow.
In addition, Fáilte Ireland supports Business Tourism, managing the bidding for and securing of larger conferences, meetings and events to be hosted in Ireland.
We are also responsible for domestic holiday marketing across four regional experience brands: Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland’s Ancient East, Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands and Dublin.