As housing and rent prices peak in Ireland’s larger cities and congestion hits record highs, Sligo County Council has teamed up with business, investment and community stakeholders in the county to showcase what Sligo has to offer those who opt for the exceptional quality of life to be availed of in the North West … and what a life it appears to be.
The Yeats County, located on the Wild Atlantic Way, is a regional designated growth centre in the NW. It is punching above its weight on job creation, culture and creativity, educational opportunities, and with its abundance of beautiful beaches, mountains and landscape, is now aiming to do more to tell its story to the world.
Having launched the new Sligo brand and website Sligo.ie, the Sligo Economic Forum – a network of private and public stakeholders in County Sligo – have released promotional videos to promote Sligo under its new aim as a world class place in which to Live, Invest and Visit.
The first of these videos detail the life of the Lyons Family, a young married couple with two children living in the sea-side town of Strandhill. Originally from Tipperary, career opportunities brought them to the North West where they could avail of what they describe as ‘the perfect work life balance’. Set against the backdrop of Benbulben, Knocknarea and the rugged coastline of the Wild Atlantic way, the video is aimed at young families and professionals who want to strike a better work-life-balance to relocate to Sligo and enjoy greater affordability of housing and services, quality employment opportunities, and a beautiful, healthy environment in which to raise a family. Needless to say, this is not the only target audience in question, plans are in place to develop similar content in the future to attract third level students, creatives and innovators, and those looking to explore new career opportunities, to consider Sligo as the ideal place in which to live.
The Invest video details the ‘romantic’ story of Bernie Butler, an entrepreneur originally from Dublin who visited Sligo with her husband some 35 years ago and, after instantly falling in love with the county, vowed she would relocate. As CEO of Good 4 U, Bernie runs a thriving business on the west coast surrounded by her family who are also involved in the business. With a rapidly expanding infrastructure and excellent connectivity, according to Bernie, Sligo provides the perfect location for companies looking for an idyllic location to establish operations. The video showcases just what Sligo has to offer for potential investors or start up businesses in creative talent and accessible workspace. It also details the overall collaborative spirit of the Sligo business community to support all enterprises.
These personal stories are followed by a captivating video which encourages tourists to visit Sligo. We are treated to a wealth of breath taking scenery as drone footage travels from the Devils Chimney above Glencar, to the iconic golf links in Enniscrone. With the content being officially released in the coming weeks, the new Sligo brand has certainly provided to the outsider a little glimpse of just what this county has to offer, and there is clearly more to come.
Speaking ahead of the Launch, Chairperson of the Sligo Economic Forum, Aaron Forde, CEO Aurivo, reflected on the work to date in developing the Sligo brand.
“When the Forum was established in 2016, we had identified a need to promote the image of the county under one collective brand which would deliver a positive and coherent message for Sligo. Sligo County Council, leading out with public and private entities, came together to make this happen and our final product is an impressive brand, a state of the art website and high quality content to back it all up. However, that was the easy part, we now look forward to getting the message out there and promoting Sligo as a world class place in which to Live, Invest and Visit”.
All of this and more can be viewed on the new, ‘state of the art’ Sligo.ie website which will also be officially launched at the event. The brand will be launched by Cathaoirleach of Sligo County Council, Cllr Tom MacSharry at an event to be held in the inspiring contemporary Arts centre and gallery, The Model Sligo, and will showcase produce from the Sligo Food Trail and Sligo music with guest speaker John Concannon, Vice-President NUIG, a proud Sligo ambassador.
