It’s far from a polished visitor attraction but despite this Swords Castle was found to be third most visitied or recommended attraction amongst Fingal residents.
In a finding that clearly points to untapped potential of the historic monument, Swords Castle has been visited by 32% of those surveyed – ahead of Newbridge House and Ardgillan Castle, both of which receive substantial ongoing investment from the council.
The finding came in a survey of 1,000 Fingal residents in March, conducted by RED C.
The Fingal top ten attractions are:
- Malahide Castle
- Malahide beach
- Swords Castle
- Ardgillan Castle
- Newbridge House
- Skerries North Beach
- Skerries South Beach
- St Catherine’s Park
- Rush South Beach
- Rush North Beach
Commenting on the finding, Cllr Ian Carey said:
“This is a really important finding when it comes to future investment in our heritage sites. Swords Castle has seen proportionately far less investment that some of the other sites yet it is attracting more visitors. It is clear that there is buckets of potential here when it comes to developing a really excellent tourism offering in Swords. In addition to the Castle we have the untapped potential of St Columba’s Church, the Norman Tower and the Round Tower.
“If the council invests in the historic cluster at Swords there is really huge potential there. This can benefit locals and businesses and give a real focus to the town.
“The economic department of the council are putting together a tourism group for Swords made up of various stakeholders. If you are interested please get in touch.”
