County Clare’s first working Hedge School in 200 years, a series of food, heritage and activity-based trails, and a unique parking initiative for cycling and walking tourists in the Loop Head Peninsula have been announced at a ceremony held in Buswells Hotel in Dublin.
Loop Head Tourism (LHT) today launched "Summer on the Loop” featuring a range of activities and events taking place this summer across the Loop Head Peninsula in County Clare, recently named ‘Best Place to Holiday in Ireland’.
The programme features Curragh Racing in Kilbaha (June 16), Hell of the West Triathlon weekend in Kilkee (June 21-23), Kilkee Loophead Maritime Festival (Jul 12-14), Carrigaholt Family Festival (Aug 15-18), Nell Galvin Traditional Music Festival in Moyasta (Aug 30-Sep 1), Kilkee Strand Races (Sep 14), Che do Bheatha (Sep 27-29) celebrating Che Guevara's links with Kilkee, and Seafood in September (September 20-22) amongst a number of other events and activities.
"Summer on the Loop” also features the return after an absence of two centuries of a working Hedge School, once a common site throughout every parish in Ireland between the 17th and early 19th century. The schools were established in secret outdoor locations under the Penal Laws when Catholics were forbidden from teaching and no building could serve as a school. Carmel T. Madigan - professional artist, author of ‘The Wild flowers of Loophead’ and naturalist - will host the Loophead Summer Hedge School project.
"Summer on the Loop” is complemented by the launch of the “Tastes of the Loop" food trail which has been developed by the newly formed ‘Loop Head Food Circle’, a subgroup of the LHT network. The trail promotes locally sourced and produced foods on offer at food establishments throughout the Peninsula. The summer programme also features organised outings on the Loop’s many heritage and activity-based trails including The Loop Head Cycleway, dolphin watching in the Shannon Estuary, coasteering along the shores of Kilkee Bay, horse riding, Carrigaholt Sea Angling, sailing, scuba diving, surfing, and guided walks and scenic tours.
To coincide with ‘Summer on the Loop’, LHT has also launched an initiative enabling visitors on walking or cycling holidays to park their car for the duration of their stay in the Loop Head area while their personal belongings are delivered to their places of accommodation. Accommodation and activity providers and other hospitality industry members in the Peninsula have signed up to the ‘Park Your Car’ initiative.
LHT Chairperson Cillian Murphy explained: “Members of the network, in keeping with our ethos of developing the peninsula in a responsible manner, have put together an opportunity to experience the peninsula in a "Hands Free" manner. We hope that this innovation will enable visitors get a truly up close experience of all that's available on the Loop Head Peninsula while minimizing the amount of traffic through our many protected areas.”
Commenting on ‘Summer on the Loop’, Mr. Murphy said: “This is the first comprehensive summer programme of events in Loop Head that has involved the participation of all operators and communities in the Peninsula. LHT is a community group committed to ensuring that tourism development of Loop Head will be done in a responsible and sustainable manner which will bring mutual benefits to both the wider community and visitors to the area. ‘Summer on the Loop’ features a range of events that are in keeping with this ethos.”
Winners of the European Destination of Excellence (EDEN) award in 2010, The Irish Times ‘Best Place to Holiday in Ireland’ contest in 2013, Loop Head Tourism has played a central role in the sustainable development of tourism in the Peninsula through its promotion of the Clare County Council-operated Loop Head Lighthouse visitor project and its successful lobbying of Fáilte Ireland to have the Peninsula included as one of 15 'iconic destinations' included along the 2500km-long Wild Atlantic Way.
Full details of all events and programmes being run as part of ‘Summer on the Loop’ are available from www.loophead.ie.
Loop Head Tourism (LHT) today launched "Summer on the Loop” featuring a range of activities and events taking place this summer across the Loop Head Peninsula in County Clare, recently named ‘Best Place to Holiday in Ireland’.
The programme features Curragh Racing in Kilbaha (June 16), Hell of the West Triathlon weekend in Kilkee (June 21-23), Kilkee Loophead Maritime Festival (Jul 12-14), Carrigaholt Family Festival (Aug 15-18), Nell Galvin Traditional Music Festival in Moyasta (Aug 30-Sep 1), Kilkee Strand Races (Sep 14), Che do Bheatha (Sep 27-29) celebrating Che Guevara's links with Kilkee, and Seafood in September (September 20-22) amongst a number of other events and activities.
"Summer on the Loop” also features the return after an absence of two centuries of a working Hedge School, once a common site throughout every parish in Ireland between the 17th and early 19th century. The schools were established in secret outdoor locations under the Penal Laws when Catholics were forbidden from teaching and no building could serve as a school. Carmel T. Madigan - professional artist, author of ‘The Wild flowers of Loophead’ and naturalist - will host the Loophead Summer Hedge School project.
"Summer on the Loop” is complemented by the launch of the “Tastes of the Loop" food trail which has been developed by the newly formed ‘Loop Head Food Circle’, a subgroup of the LHT network. The trail promotes locally sourced and produced foods on offer at food establishments throughout the Peninsula. The summer programme also features organised outings on the Loop’s many heritage and activity-based trails including The Loop Head Cycleway, dolphin watching in the Shannon Estuary, coasteering along the shores of Kilkee Bay, horse riding, Carrigaholt Sea Angling, sailing, scuba diving, surfing, and guided walks and scenic tours.
To coincide with ‘Summer on the Loop’, LHT has also launched an initiative enabling visitors on walking or cycling holidays to park their car for the duration of their stay in the Loop Head area while their personal belongings are delivered to their places of accommodation. Accommodation and activity providers and other hospitality industry members in the Peninsula have signed up to the ‘Park Your Car’ initiative.
LHT Chairperson Cillian Murphy explained: “Members of the network, in keeping with our ethos of developing the peninsula in a responsible manner, have put together an opportunity to experience the peninsula in a "Hands Free" manner. We hope that this innovation will enable visitors get a truly up close experience of all that's available on the Loop Head Peninsula while minimizing the amount of traffic through our many protected areas.”
Commenting on ‘Summer on the Loop’, Mr. Murphy said: “This is the first comprehensive summer programme of events in Loop Head that has involved the participation of all operators and communities in the Peninsula. LHT is a community group committed to ensuring that tourism development of Loop Head will be done in a responsible and sustainable manner which will bring mutual benefits to both the wider community and visitors to the area. ‘Summer on the Loop’ features a range of events that are in keeping with this ethos.”
Winners of the European Destination of Excellence (EDEN) award in 2010, The Irish Times ‘Best Place to Holiday in Ireland’ contest in 2013, Loop Head Tourism has played a central role in the sustainable development of tourism in the Peninsula through its promotion of the Clare County Council-operated Loop Head Lighthouse visitor project and its successful lobbying of Fáilte Ireland to have the Peninsula included as one of 15 'iconic destinations' included along the 2500km-long Wild Atlantic Way.
Full details of all events and programmes being run as part of ‘Summer on the Loop’ are available from www.loophead.ie.
