- Fáilte Ireland formally wound up The Gathering company
- Campaign generated €170m in 2013
- 250,000-275,000 associated visitors that year
- Company maintained dormant until March 2026 board decision
- Five-year repeat plans never realised
Fáilte Ireland has formally wound up the company behind The Gathering, the 2013 government-backed diaspora tourism campaign launched after the financial crash to attract visitors with Irish connections. The campaign generated an estimated €170m in revenue and 250,000 to 275,000 associated visitors that year but was never repeated on the same scale. The dormant company was maintained until a March 2026 board decision to close it.
The corporate entity behind The Gathering had been kept dormant by Fáilte Ireland in case a similar diaspora-led campaign was required in the future. Initial legacy plans by former Taoiseach Enda Kenny to run similar diaspora-focused tourism events every five years were never realised, leading to the decision to permanently pull the plug. According to recent company accounts, the board of the national tourism development authority formally agreed to liquidate and wind up the company.
The initiative had been launched to boost Irish tourism following the 2008 financial crash, with the campaign successfully attracting diaspora visitors for a single year. The decision to wind down the company reflected the view that a repeat campaign would not deliver equivalent benefits. The estimated €170m in revenue had represented a significant return on the government’s investment.
