Roling out of Ireland's Ancient East signage begins

Fáilte Ireland has begun the first phase of its orientation signage for Ireland’s Ancient East with attractive newly designed signs already installed at the Dunbrody Famine Ship Experience, New Ross, Wexford; Ferns Castle, Wexford; and Wicklow Gaol. These three signs are part of the first phase of a multi signage programme envisaged for Ireland’s Ancient East with similar branded orientation signage expected to be in place at 80 key sites throughout the region by the end of the year.

Fáilte Ireland’s Head of Ireland’s Ancient East, Jenny De Saulles emphasised: “For too long, most overseas tourists have seen the south east, midlands and north east as a region to travel to for a day or simply just to travel through. Ireland’s Ancient East seeks to change all that by creating enough ‘stickiness’ and points of curiosity that visitors will slow down, explore the region and stay overnight. These signs are geared to encourage that behaviour. Strategically located at popular stopping points, they inform visitors of all the other interesting things to see and do within an hour’s drive in every direction outwards”.

Shaped as a large spiral wheel, each sign highlights a range of sites within up to 60 minutes’ drive away from the sign location to encourage visitors to extend their stay and visit more than just the primary sites. The design uses two curved circle frames that slide together with the inner circle containing a graphic panel wrapped around the base plinth with a wider circle spiralling out to a second curve - thus creating the illusion of a Celtic spiral. You can view PDFs of the first three signs here [LINK].

Ultimately, the signs have been designed and positioned strategically to:

Make it easy for the visitor to find out about all the great things to see and do:

Cross-sell nearby tourist attractions and points of interest that are part of the Ireland’s Ancient East story, thereby encouraging visitors to explore the area and make connections with other places within the region;

Present the story of Irelands Ancient East in a joined-up fashion and strengthen the core values of the brand.

Ireland’s Ancient East seeks to offer visitors a compelling reason to visit the east of Ireland and is rooted in the rich history and diverse range of cultural heritage experiences that are particularly prevalent in that part of Ireland. Ultimately the key strategic objective of the Ireland’s Ancient East initiative is to increase the number of overnight stays by overseas visitors in the region as well as increase the tourism revenue generated and the associated tourism employment.

Ms De Saulles added: “We want to transform Ireland’s Ancient East from a transit zone to a touring zone by increasing visitor dwell time in the region. Furthermore, we intend to promote a greater dispersal of visitor traffic across the region by encouraging the exploration lesser known sites and experiences along with our key signature attractions. These signs work to that objective and will, we hope, encourage visitors to explore the rich variety of all the region can offer.”