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REPRO FREE February 2016 – Images of Ireland will be beamed into the homes of more than two million Americans this St Patrick’s Day. Footage is being filmed this month at various locations in Dublin, Kilkenny, Waterford, Kerry, Clare and Meath, which will air on NBC television in New York during its live coverage of the St Patrick’s Day parade in New York. The NBC crew was invited here by Tourism Ireland in partnership with Fáilte Ireland. PIC SHOWS: NBC producer Mike Mathis (left), with tour guide Ronan Ganter, during filming in Ireland. Pic – Seán Byrne (no repro fee) Further press info – Sinéad Grace, Tourism Ireland 087 6859027

IMAGES of Kerry and Ireland will be beamed into the homes of more than two million Americans this St Patrick’s Day. Footage is being filmed this month at various locations and will air on NBC television in New York during its live coverage of the St Patrick’s Day parade in New York. The NBC crew was invited here by Tourism Ireland in partnership with Fáilte Ireland.

The NBC broadcast on March 17 will highlight Kerry and the Wild Atlantic Way. Filming took place in Portmagee and included an interview with John O’Sullivan at the Skellig Experience Visitor Centre. The crew stayed at The Moorings Guesthouse in Portmagee. Coverage of the St Patrick’s Day parade on NBC will be sponsored by Tourism Ireland once again this year.

Alison Metcalfe, Tourism Ireland’s head of North America, said: “The NBC broadcast on St Patrick’s Day is an excellent opportunity to showcase Kerry and Ireland to a huge audience of more than two million Americans. People everywhere instantly identify St Patrick’s Day with Ireland and that heightened profile at this time of year allows us to put our holiday experience in the spotlight in the United States.

“2015 was the third record-breaking year in a row for visitor numbers to Ireland from North America, when we welcomed more than 1.5 million visitors. Tourism Ireland is undertaking an extensive programme of promotional activity again this year – to keep the momentum going and build on that growth.”

Tourism Ireland will undertake a busy programme of consumer and trade promotions in the United States around St Patrick’s Day. For the first time ever, 7 World Trade Center at Ground Zero in New York, the famous Boston Red Sox (baseball team) and Reunion Hall in Dallas will participate in Tourism Ireland’s Global Greening initiative on March 17, joining other sites like the Empire State Building, the famous ‘Welcome’ sign in Las Vegas and City Hall in Toronto.

NBC producer Mike Mathis (left), with tour guide Ronan Ganter, during filming in Ireland.