Liberty news

Case Study: Tourist Route

A tourist route set to transform the Liberties is one of the major proposals outlined in the IAP. Work on the route will begin in the summer of 1999 as part of the City’s millennial development.

The area has suffered from lack of investment and the loss of a middle income population but representatives of the IAP hope to re-establish the area as a thriving part of Dublin city.

Michael Stubbs, Project Manager for the plan in Dublin Corporation, told the Liberty that the aim of the route would be to give tourists "a complete walking experience of the area" which up until now has been relatively ignored.

The tourist trail will include two routes, featuring popular attractions such as Dublin Castle, Christchurch, St Patrick's Cathedral and the Guinness Hopstore. A secondary route will take tourists up through the lesser-known walkways like High St, Meath Place, Francis St, Hanbury Lane and Thomas St.

At the moment, the plan is at the design stage, the cost of which is an estimated £1 million, with additional future investment as work progresses. Phase two will involve a more comprehensive identification of all potential tourist spots.

One of the key attractions will be the new "Guinness Experience" visitors centre which will replace the existing Hopstore. Guinness expects that up to one million visitors per year will visit the new facility and that this will create a knock-on effect for all the businesses in the area.