‘Ray left us a terrific legacy and it is up to us to do it justice’

Emerald Park will be the new name for Tayto Park and Zoo, as the Meath attraction receives a new brand identity.

The move is a poignant one for the family of the late Raymond Coyle the founder of Tayto Park, who passed away last June.

"The park is such a big part of all our lives and he was the man who created it," said his son and general manager, Charles Coyle.

"This is a poignant time, as was the turning of the sod on the new roller coasters, as he had been involved in all of it, although not as much as he would have liked.

"He would be happy with how it is progressing, He left us a terrific legacy and it is up to us as stewards to do it justice," he said.

"It is a poignant time, but an exciting time and he was always looking forward to the next challenge."

The theme park and zoo was Raymond Coyle's vision and the long term ambition was to make it one of the best family attractions in Europe.

"What we want to do and what he wanted, was to make it into the best family attraction in Ireland and one of the top ten in Europe for a day out," said Charles.

The name change to Emerald Park will take effect from 1st January.

Last February, Tayto and Tayto Park announced that the title sponsorship would come to an end on 31st January and that a new name and brand identity was on the way.

On Thursday, the new name was unveiled by Charles Coyle and work is now under way to rebrand all elements of the park before the new year.

“When we announced that the name of the park would change, we were inundated with ideas from the public and it was wonderful to see such enthusiasm.

"We commissioned a piece of research and Emerald Park was the clear favourite. We will start next year with a new name and new brand throughout the park. "Ireland is often referred to as the Emerald Isle by international visitors, and Meath is known throughout Ireland for its lush green countryside, so the new name has relevance and resonance. A name change, and all it involves, is challenging but the team is looking forward to embracing a new era with a new identity," he said.

Niamh Reynolds, marketing manager of the Tayto Park, said: “We made the strategic decision to not look for a brand title sponsor but rather create a new brand – Emerald Park – which we hope will be supported next year by a number of strategic brand partners from various sectors – FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods), energy, transport to name a few. We are actively meeting brand teams at present and we are very confident we will have the right partners in place for 2023”.

A new website and brand identity for Emerald Park will be unveiled in January 2023.

As developments continue at the theme park, ground was recently broken on two new steel rollercoasters with a budget of €30m which will add to the growing list of attractions.