Economic Value of Ireland's Historic Environment - The Heritage ...

• Normal day trippers who buy a day ticket (about 34,000 visits annually);
• Friends, typically residents in the area, who use the facility on a year-round basis for an annual fee
(about 12,000 visits annually);
• People who attend one off events held in the Demesne (about 32,000 annually).
This gives total annual visitors in all categories of about 78,000 in 2011.
Day visitors are broadly divided equally between Irish and overseas tourists. The latter are in turn divided
roughly evenly between the UK and Continental Europe. The Demesne does not attract very many US
visitors, notwithstanding its links to the Shannon Region, which is a major draw for US visitors.
Regarding impact of visitors to the town, this currently involves local expenditure by day visitors.
However, there is still considerable potential to develop Birr as an overnight visitor attraction, along the
lines of Westport (see Westport town case study). Some local accommodation providers suggest that at
present perhaps 1 in 10 bednights would be attributable to the Castle.
Direct employment in Birr Foundation is about 20 people in the high season, falling to 6 in the low season.
There are some links between Birr Castle Demesne and other visitor attractions in the area, e.g. two of
the hire cruise operators on the River Shannon provide link transport from nearby Banagher to Birr during
the summer period.
3.4 Other Socio-Economic Benefits
The Demesne is important as a local amenity, reflected in the fact that it has about 1,000 Friends who
pay for year-round access.
The other wider socio-economic benefit is in the area of education, science and innovation awareness.
This includes visits by local and other schools, by science and engineering students from Irish third level
institutions, and also specialist visitors with an interest in the scientific and engineering legacy
represented by and on display in Birr. Birr Castle Demesne is one of the listed school attractions under
the national “Discover Science and Engineering Programme”. 51
The Garden is also important in terms of horticultural education for students and practitioners, and the
positive spill-overs that exist in terms of biodiversity, conservation and other positive effects on the
environment and well-being, which includes both use and non-use benefits.
51 See www.primaryscience.ie
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