The Ring of Gullion roll out the welcome mat to Outdoor Recreation organisations

A fabulous 2 day conference last week which showcased the Ring of Gullion and South Armagh starting to starch the surface in developing the area as a hive for Outdoor Recreation in Northern Ireland, with delegates from Ireland, England and Spain learning about how the area is progressing.

The Developing and Managing Recreation in Protected Area 2 day conference was held in Tí Chulainn conference centre in Mullaghbane. As well as highly authoritative talks on diverse subjects ranging from developing a sustainable recreation in the Pyrenees and what makes Ireland’s mountains special delegates were treated to site visits to the key outdoor recreation sites in the area.

Sport NI bought together a huge array of supporters and funders to enable them to bring this high profile conference to south Armagh. . The principal conference partners were Newry Mourne and Down District Council, Tourism NI and Northern Ireland Environment Agency.

Councillor Roisin Mulgrew , Chairperson of Newry, Mourne and Down District Council explains, “This weekend is showcasing all that is great about south Armagh –the people and the landscape. Attendees and the local community got to enjoy the entrainment on Thursday night which provided the attendees with a warm south Armagh welcome to the area.”

“I hope that if this was attendees first time to the area that it has being an eye opener to all the potential it has and also encourage them to come back to experience all it has to offer.

The Ring of Gullion team work very hard to provide a programme of events over the year which highlight to the rich heritage of the area and this is another first for the area.”

The Ring of Gullion Partnership are working to develop a Ring of Gullion Outdoor Recreation Forum and in the progress of creating a strategy for the area which will tie into the new AONB Action Plan.