A new €4.5M state-of-the-art Visitor Experience opens at the Brú na Bóinne centre
A new state-of-the-art Visitor Experience at the Brú na Bóinne centre was opened today following a €4.5m investment by Fáilte Ireland, OPW and Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.
The new immersive visitor experience will showcase the archaeological and historical heritage of Brú na Bóinne in a way that is evocative, absorbing and entertaining for visitors while increasing the capacity of visitors to the site and monuments.
It will tell the story of how the Neolithic Passage Tomb at Newgrange was constructed around 3,200 BC, and the way it aligns with the rising sun at the time of the Winter Solstice on 21 December.
New information on the immensely rich archaeological landscape of the World Heritage Site around Newgrange will also be brought to life at the centre for the first time, with exciting discoveries made during the summer of 2018 which have since been investigated by the National Monuments Service.
A new state of the art visitor centre was unveiled at Brú na Bóinne
Today, exactly 26 years after the ‘Archaeological ensemble of the Bend of the Boyne or Brú na Bóinne’ was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran TD, Minister of State for the Office of Public Works (OPW) and Flood Relief and Brendan Griffin TD, Minister of State for the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport opened the innovative new centre.
Officially opening the new visitor experience this morning, Minister Moran said “It’s a huge pleasure for me to be here to open the new facilities at Brú na Bóinne today. Everyone concerned from the OPW, my colleague Josepha Madigan’s Department of Culture Heritage and the Gaeltacht (CHG) and Fáílte Ireland have pulled out all the stops to make sure that this project has been a resounding success, delivering a great new experience for visitors and providing a fantastic showcase for Newgrange, Knowth and other wonderful heritage sites locally in the
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“Newgrange and the Boyne Valley region are among Ireland’s greatest cultural and tourism gems.'
Minister Griffin in his comments echoed the praise for the new facilities. “Newgrange and the Boyne Valley region are among Ireland’s greatest cultural and tourism gems. The Government is proud to support innovation in tourism and the work Fáilte Ireland and the OPW have done to transform the visitor centre here will help to ensure that Ireland remains a world-class visitor destination.”
Fáilte Ireland’s CEO Paul Kelly said:
“It’s incredibly important that we build and develop visitor attractions to give overseas tourists compelling reasons to visit Ireland. Tourism is a highly competitive business and we need to continue to innovate in order to stand out in the international marketplace. This is already a major and iconic Irish visitor attraction and our investment will help to ensure that it can stand out to diverse markets and drive greater visitor numbers in the entire Ireland’s Ancient East region.”