Take a peek at the editor's letter inside Ireland of the Welcomes 70th anniversary issue. Available now in newsstands throughout North America and Canada!
Ireland of the Welcomes is proud to mark a milestone in its publication saluting its 70th anniversary as the leading Irish interest magazine. Since May 1952, Ireland of the Welcomes has been the main source of information for Irish tourism for generation after generation creating a truly spectacular legacy in its pages celebrating its history, tradition, culture, and community with outstanding photography and inspiring text.
Ireland of the Welcomes remains that constant companion to all Hibernophiles. In the 1950s when air travel became more common, the idea of developing Irish tourism began to take root. In 1952 a government body, which was to become Fáilte Ireland, began publishing a bi-monthly magazine to shine a light on the allure and appeal of the Emerald Isle. Seventy years later Irish Studio is proud to continue its work by publishing Ireland of the Welcomes.
The magazine became a mainstay for renowned Irish wordsmiths. In this issue, we showcase works by poet Patrick Kavanagh, authors Brendan Behan and Sean O'Faolin, as well as artist Paul Henry and photographer John Hinde. These articles and others are for the first time in decades available to the public. Throughout our anniversary year, we will continue to publish these wonderful articles from our archives in Ireland of the Welcomes and on our sister website IrishCentral.
Travel to Ireland has changed over the decades. In the 1950s Ireland of the Welcomes advertised religious pilgrimages and retreats. Of course, as they continue to this day, those with Irish family and ancestry returned to the Irish shores and in 1953 the first of a series of festivals called An Tóstal invited all those with a love for Ireland to come home.
Looking at the transformation of Ireland of the Welcomes over the years we watch the evolution of travel as air travel made getting here easier and cars, trains and buses allowed us to organize road trips around this small island. What's wonderful to see is that while so much in the world has changed since the 1950s that which excites visitors to Ireland remains the same.
Travellers continue to arrive to explore Ireland's millennia of history, its rich culture and the lush dramatic countryside with which we're blessed. Within the pages of Ireland of the Welcomes, we are happy to reflect our reader's inspiration for traveling to our island as this magazine has done for seven decades.
While Ireland enjoyed its best year ever in 2018 for overseas tourism with 11.2 million visitors choosing to travel, the pandemic in 2020 put a halt to all our fun. However, as we learn to live with Covid we're happy to see tourists arriving to Ireland once again and Ireland of the Welcomes is excited to continue to be a traveler's guide as the world gets back to rights.
Ireland of the Welcomes is a timeless publication, always expressing the real magic that every traveler is hoping to witness. If we look back at how the magazine was promoted in 1963 with the slogan “Ireland today is all you ever hoped, much you never dreamed. Ireland of the Welcomes is next to being there. A magazine specifically for those of us who can’t be there, but yearn to know how it is.” This is a sentiment that still rings true for us.
However, today, as Ireland of the Welcomes celebrates its anniversary, we look full forward while addressing the past. Ireland of the Welcomes has been the favorite Irish magazine of your great grandparents, grandparents, and parents and now this fantastic legacy is in your hands, so keep your family legacy alive.
For 70 years Ireland of the Welcomes has been more than a magazine, more than a guidebook, it’s been a dependable source of all things Irish, through the decades like an old family friend who pays a visit every other month to talk about what’s wonderful back home and what you need to see the next time you visit. Ireland of the Welcomes looks forward to its next 70 years bringing Ireland to our readers around the world.
- Kate
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