This article is from page 66 of the 2006-10-10 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 66 JPG
FIGURES released by Clare County Council show that it cost more than €15,000 to send a five-strong Council delegation to the Milwaukee Irish Festival last August.
The delegation, which was led by Mayor of Clare, Councillor Flan Garvey (FF), included the Council’s recently appointed PR consultant, Mark Dunphy of Dunphy Public Relations and three officials.
The figures show that €7,840 covered the flight and accommodation costs for Cllr Garvey and the three Council officials, Cliffs of Moher visitor centre Director, Kathrine Webster, paid for her own flight to the US.
The former Head of News at Clare FM was paid €2,470 for work before, after and during the Milwaukee trip; €2,197 covered his flight and accommodation and €550 went towards subsistence. The flights and accommodation were paid by the Council through the Clare Tourist Council.
According to Mark Dunphy, the agreed fee covered a service provided for the local authority over a three-week period. This work included the production of three radio documentaries on the Council’s visit which were subsequently broadcast on Clare FM; seven press releases which received local, national and international coverage; promotional work for Clare County Council at the Festival site; and the organisation of radio interviews at local, national and international level.
Mayor Garvey said the cost of the trip “offered very good value for the Council. It was the biggest Irish promotional event in the world and it was imperative that the Council had a presence there.
“There is proof that it has paid dividends with a number of choirs visiting Clare, while the Minister for Tourism in Nova Scotia has called for direct flights from Nova Scotia to Shannon. These are the direct benefits that I have proof of, but I’m sure there are others I am not aware of.
“There are hotels from Ireland spending a lot of money promoting their businesses, but we are promoting all of Clare. The value of the trip for Clare is undoubted and we had to be there.”
According to a press release issued by Mr Dunphy, over 3,000 tourists are expected to visit Clare via Shannon Airport over the coming months as a result of a tourism promotion drive launched in Milwaukee.
At the annual festival, an estimated 135,000 festival goers were offered discounted airfares to Shannon from Boston,Chicago and New York.