Louise McBride, reports in the Independent on Sunday, 26 August 2012 that the hit TV show Who Do You Think You
Are? in which the US actor Martin Sheen recently
traced his roots to Dublin's Kilmainham Gaol, has helped to boost the number of
tourists coming to Ireland, according to the state tourism body, Failte Ireland.
Almost 90,000 overseas visitors came
to Ireland last year to trace their Irish roots, spending as much as €61m in
doing so, according to Failte Ireland. More
than half of those visiting the country to trace their Irish heritage are from North America.
"The proliferation of programmes
such as Who Do You Think You Are? has sparked renewed interest in
genealogy," said a spokesman for Failte Ireland. "Programmes like
that can have as much an influence on roots tourism here as the likes of the
visit of President Obama to
Moneygall last year."
RTE is currently showing 'Who Do You
Think You Are? (USA). Among those who have traced their roots on the show are Sex and the City star Kim Cattrall and The Sopranos star Steve Buscemi.
Failte Ireland expects that more
overseas visitors will come to the country to trace their Irish roots next year
once 'The Gathering' kicks off. 'The Gathering' is a series of events and
festivals where people can trace their heritage.
Meanwhile Irish people and tourists
could soon be able to visit a centre similar to Ellis Island in
New York -- albeit one where you can trace your Irish roots rather than where
you immigrated to.
Failte Ireland is examining how and
where a National DiasporaCentre could
be built in Ireland, after being requested to do so by the Minister for Tourism
Leo Varadkar.
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