Aine Mangan has stepped down from role in Kildare tourism. spent nine years leading Into Kildare (the County Kildare Tourism Board). Born in Rathangan, County Kildare, she dedicated nearly a decade to building the county’s reputation as a top-tier national and global travel destination.
Ms Mangan was appointed as the Tourism Manager for Kildare Fáilte (now branded as Into Kildare) in August 2017. Working hand-in-hand with the Kildare County Council, she transformed how the region promotes itself.
She championed major event-led tourism, including the popular Taste of Kildare food festival which takes place today and the striking “Lighting up Kildare” winter initiatives. Under her watch, the county hosted premier events like the KPMG Women’s Irish Open at The K Club and the widespread “Brigid 1500” celebrations.
In Kildare she pushed local businesses to adopt new technologies to improve online visitor experiences and drive up booking numbers.
Nationally, she became the mastermind behind the Tourism Officer Network, a national collective uniting tourism bodies across every Irish county to spark economic growth.
Before taking over Kildare’s public tourism strategy, Mangan accumulated over 30 years of elite business experience in the private golf and hospitality sectors. She specialized heavily in international sales, partnership building, and destination marketing. She worked with globally renowned luxury golf clubs, including Carton House in Kildare, alongside top-tier international venues like Loch Lomond and The Grove.
Her time in luxury sports hospitality allowed her to establish a massive network of international travel and tour operators, which she later leveraged to draw global tourists to County Kildare.
Mangan has left a proud legacy of cross-industry collaboration. Her work united local hotels, racecourses, heritage sites, and small businesses into a cohesive regional brand. Following her step-down in late 2026, she runs private tourism and public-sector leadership consulting
Aine Mangan shared: “After almost a decade leading Into Kildare, the time has come for me to step away from my role as CEO and focus on what matters most right now, my family. Looking back, I feel an enormous sense of gratitude and pride. It has been a privilege to work alongside so many passionate people who care deeply about County Kildare and everything it has to offer.”
