It may be the smallest county in Connacht, the smallest by population in Ireland, with the smallest stretch of beach on the Wild Atlantic Way, but in their latest episode the Irish Stew podcasters learn that Leitrim is capitalizing on its offer of a great quality of life, relative affordability, entrepreneurial energy, appeal to a more mobile workforce, and its “slow adventure” approach experiencing its natural allure.
Arriving in Carrick-on-Shannon, the cohosts head to the offices of the Leitrim County Council, the local government organization committed to building an economically strong, creative, and inclusive county, making Leitrim the best place to live, to work, and to visit.
Though County Council Chief Executive Joseph Gilhooly opened the doors to Leitrim for Irish Stew, for the interview, he gave the floor to his able lieutenants, Director of Services David Minton and tourism officer Sinead McDermott.
You’ll hear how Leitrim’s economy is strong on small-scale entrepreneurship and growing sectors like fintech, food innovation, engineering, and renewables. They also detail the County Council’s integrated support system, including the Local Enterprise Office, The Hive incubation hub, and the Carrick Campus for growing firms.
They share that tourists from across Ireland, the US, and Europe come for Leitrim’s authenticity, natural beauty, slower pace, farm-to-table food, tranquillity, and eco-tourism. They sense that climate change is subtly shifting European travel patterns northward, making Ireland a “cool” alternative to overheated southern Europe.
With Leitrim’s tourism value proposition top-of-mind, the podcasters head to The Landmark Hotel to meet with Sales and Marketing Manager Ciara Maxwell, who came to Leitrim for a one-year work experience 15 years ago and never left, which tells you everything you need to know about the pull of this place.
She tells how founders John and Ciaran Kelly envisioned a new riverside hotel that would be a real landmark looking out over “The Marina Capital of Ireland” and in the center of Carrick-on-Shannon’s lively weekend nightlife of pubs, shows, and restaurants.
Irish Stew Podcast hosts John Lee and Martin Nutty with Ciara Maxwell.
There’s more tastes of Leitrim on Irish Stew next week, including the story of the Malaysian chef who’s upending the local food scene, the new woodland lodging hideaway set on 100 acres of Irish history, and the slow adventure e-bike option for traversing the Jackalope Trail to Drumshanbo, home of The Shed Distillery of P.J. Rigney.
You can listen to the latest episode of The Irish Stew Podcast here:
For more information, visit IrishStewPodcast.com. You can listen to "The Irish Stew Podcast" wherever you get your podcasts.
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