Uncover the hidden gem that is Newcastle West with a new digital presence launched for County Limerick town

A new website has been launched showcasing all the best of County Limerick’s largest (any my home) town, Newcastle West and I was delighted to be invited to contribute a culinary themed piece which you can read here.

Hundreds of people gathered in the LongCourt House Hotel for the family friendly launch of NewcastleWest.ie –  a joint collaboration between Limerick City and County Council and the Newcastle West Development Association.

The new site was officially launched by Minister Patrick O’Donovan TD, Minister of State at the Department of Finance and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform with special responsibility for Public Procurement, Open Government and eGovernment.

Limerick City and County Council worked with the Newcastle West Development Association, which is led by local businesses and community groups, by mapping out what was needed for the website in terms of its content but also how it can remain relevant to locals and visitors into the future.

It is hosted on Limerick.ie, a ground-breaking and award winning digital platform which acts as a one-stop-shop for information on living, working, visiting and doing business in Limerick.

In 2017, Limerick.ie was named as one of the top 25 Tourism websites in the world by global travel think-tank Skift.com.

NewcastleWest.ie is a space for locals and visitors to the area with comprehensive information on Where to Stay, Things to Do, Food & Drink, History & Heritage, Fashion & Retail, Sports & Recreation, Clubs & Organisations and how to get to Newcastle West.

With dedicated content for families, teenagers and grown-ups, NewcastleWest.ie is a one stop shop for all information about the area.  Users are engaged and inspired through dynamic and appealing imagery, videos and content specific to Newcastle West, its surrounding countryside and the greater Limerick area.

From a user’s perspective, it means that they can have full access to content on NewcastleWest.ie as well as supporting content across all the Limerick.ie platform.

Speaking at the launch of NewcastleWest.ie, Deputy Mayor of the City and County of Limerick Cllr Michael Collins said: “Months of work has gone into the creation of the website and the procurement of content for what definitely is a website worthy of Newcastle West.  What is important is that it has been created in conjunction with the people of Newcastle West. NewcastleWest.ie also supports a number of key recommendations of the Newcastle West Vision 2023 plan, which will guide the development of the county town over the next five years.”

Officially launching NewcastleWest.ie, Minister of State, Patrick O’Donovan TD said “As a native of the town of Newcastle West and as a former Minister for Tourism, this website will build on the development of Newcastle West as a destination location. Over the last few years we have seen a large amount of public and private sector investment into the town, and as the Government representative in the area I am very anxious to drive investment into the area. NewcastleWest.ie will be an important tool in helping us move the town forward with all the stakeholders community, voluntary, business and state agencies working together.”

Limerick City and County Council Director of Social Development with responsibility for the Newcastle West municipal district, Gordon Daly, said NewcastleWest.ie is a great example of how the Council is working with towns to provide a cost effective web presence for communities to promote themselves to the wide audience on Limerick.ie.

“Up until now Limerick.ie has an online town profile for each of the larger towns in Limerick including the county town, but this is the first time we have collaborated with local groups to build tailored and dedicated content based on the knowledge that only the local community can provide.”

The Newcastle West Development Association has taken responsibility for ensuring that the website content is up-to-date, accurate and relevant to their audience, while Limerick City and County Council’s Marketing and Communications department is responsible for creating, editing and publishing the content to Limerick.ie as well as providing website hosting service.

Speaking on behalf of Newcastle West Development Association, Seamus Hunt, said: “We’re delighted to be officially launching NewcastleWest.ie today and we’re hoping that the people of the town get behind us, submit news, directory listings, information, events, blogs and features as its success is going to be determined by how the people of Newcastle West embrace it.”

Limerick City and County Council provides the opportunity for any Limerick towns to have their own individual town profile pages on the Limerick.ie website. The profile pages can feature news, directory listings, information, events, features, tailored itineraries etc. in relation to that town or region.