Posted online: Jul 21st, 2010

By Lauren Harte
reporter

There was good news on the local tourism front this week following news that almost €2m in funding has been approved to develop Sliabh Liag into one of the region’s top tourist attractions.
The Fáilte Ireland approved grant of €1,998,500 will be used to fund essential road access improvement, walking routes, transport at the site and improvements to the car park.
The additional funding is to be used to transform the cliffs and immediate hinterland into a world class visitor attraction. However, a key factor to this will be ensuring that the site maintains its environmental, cultural and heritage values through further development of the site as a first class walking/hill walking attraction, a
family-friendly cultural and heritage attraction with increased amenities for visitors and a vibrant local community based environmental tourist destination.
The project is aimed at improving the overall experience of visitors to Sliabh Liag and putting in place sufficient measures designed to preserve this iconic natural attraction.
The sea cliffs at Sliabh Liag, a popular Carrick attraction, were recently ranked at number 18 in the Lonely Planet’s top 25 Irish tourism experiences.
According to the list, published in May, a visit to the spectacular 600m cliffs, the highest in Ireland, is a necessity during a trip to South Donegal.
Welcoming the news, the Tánaiste, Mary Coughlan said the grant was “a major boost for tourism in South West Donegal”.
Carrick-based Cllr Brendan Byrne, who has long campaigned for the funding, hopes that tourist numbers to the area will double over the coming years.
“It is great to be able to promote the area with the aim of making Sliabh Liag the largest tourist attraction not just in Donegal but in the North West. Over the next three years, it is hoped to attract 250,000 to the area every year which will be more than double the current
annual figure of 120,000.”