Mulranny receives responsible tourism award

Mulranny has received a silver award in the Best Destination for Responsible Tourism category at the 2015 Irish Responsible Tourism Awards.

The judging panel found that with the greenway, Wild Atlantic Way, the 6k Fáilte Ireland loop walk through three Natura sites, a €1.7m project to construct the Mulranny promenade and with the establishment of the national herd of Old Irish Goats in 2014, Mulranny has benefited from significant investment in its tourism infrastructure.

Mulranny Community Futures Group has 24 members and works with a host of organisations in the village and their partners, include the Heritage Council, Mayo County Council, South West Mayo Development Company, the National Parks and Wildlife Service, The Smurfit Genetic Institute, UCD and the American Ireland Fund.

In putting Mulranny forward as a responsible tourism destination, Mulranny Community Futures stated: “The community citizenship and teamwork that has emerged from Mulranny Community Futures is worth valuing. It has formed a dynamic ideology of cooperation based on mutual trust between individuals, groups and the state that strives for ideals that were, in the past, perceived to be beyond our reach. Within that philosophy, responsible tourism is a central pillar to investment in our people and place.

“The Mulranny community has reversed decades of decline, displacing dereliction and car dominated streets with a sensitively restored built railway heritage and a pedestrian and cyclist friendly village with ample public realm coming on stream.

“Responsible tourism offers great social, environmental and economic opportunity. It incentivises care of people and place. It is ideologically at one with community values, it’s established best practices are a readymade roadmap to a better future. Responsible tourism represents Mulranny’s best opportunity to survive and to thrive.”