Celebrating the success of the Heritage Venues Programme
27 October 2023
The Mayor of Derry and Strabane, Councillor Patricia Logue, today attended an event to mark the end of the Heritage Venues Collaborative Programme, made possible with funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
It also marked the launch of a number of exciting new resources aimed at promoting some of the City and District’s most iconic heritage sites. This includes a new heritage venue leaflet, showcasing the rich variety open to visitors and five new audio-visual guides.
The launch took place today at one of the city’s most important heritage sites, St Augustine’s Church, which is associated with the early monastic settlement founded by St Columba in 546AD. It’s just one of 16 locations that make up the Heritage Venues Group and feature in the new leaflet. This includes a wide variety of venues such as St Columb’s Cathedral, the Museum of Free Derry, the Siege Museum and the Sion Stables Museum.
Speaking after the launch, Mayor Logue said the new resources would really enhance the visitor experience for those who want to explore some of the fascinating heritage sites scattered throughout the City and District. “Derry and Strabane has a rich and fascinating history and this new collaborative approach to promoting these venues as part of a wider tourism experience will really appeal to visitors,” she explained.
“Each venue has its own interesting story to tell, but these stories are all component parts of a more extensive narrative that will give more context and greater insight into the cultural heritage of the North West. It’s fantastic that the new audio-visual guides are available in several different languages making the information accessible to our international visitors as well.
“I would really recommend these to local people as well who would like to find out more about the familiar landmarks that they may know very little about in terms of their place in local history.”
Dr Jim McGreevy, Northern Ireland Committee Member at The National Lottery Heritage Fund said: “We are delighted to support this collaborative project, which thanks to money raised by National Lottery players, means that heritage venues are accessing support to attract new audiences, develop their programming and collaborate to market the variety of heritage in the Derry City and Strabane District Council area. We know that heritage is a great way of bringing people together and creates a sense of pride in places, that in turn can deliver wider economic benefits.”
Acting Tourism Manager with DCSDC, Margaret Edwards, said: “This type of collaborative heritage activism ensures that all venues have a voice and most importantly that we recognise their place in the history of Derry and Strabane, and indeed in the wider context of the history of Western Europe.
“This is an important day for all the heritage venues as it celebrates the success of their collaborative programme, funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund. This programme has been focused on building their organisational resilience and collaborative spirit, alongside promoting their venues as a collective offering for locals and tourists alike in the Derry and Strabane area. By working together, the venues have enhanced their sense of place across the council area and gives visitors the opportunity to immerse themselves in local heritage on a different level.”
Ciaran Doherty, Head of Regions & Investment at Tourism Northern Ireland said: “This collaborative activity aligns to much of what we promote with Arts, Culture & Heritage in tourism. People and Place are at the heart of our destination brand, Embrace A Giant Spirit. Our built heritage is a link to the past. By preserving it and keeping our stories, beliefs and traditions alive, we are creating more reasons for visitors and residents to understand our history and the experiences we have to offer.”
The new audio-visual guides have been produced for St Augustine’s, St Columb’s Cathedral, First Derry/Blue Coat Heritage Centre, the Museum of Free Derry and the Siege Museum. These new guides complement the audio-visual guides that are already in place for St Eugene’s Cathedral and the Long Tower/Aras Cholmcille. The guides can be accessed in each participating venue by visiting and picking up your player on site or online at each of the venues.
Some of the heritage venues are included in the Visit Derry Pass which is valid for one or two days and provides access to ten local attractions at a reduced price, as well as a map and top tips on the best local attractions, available for instant download on your smartphone.