Twenty one participants recently completed a local tour guide training programme organised by Cavan Monaghan Rural Development and delivered by Fáilte Ireland. The course was delivered in the Cassandra Hand Centre in Clones, Co Monaghan with four participants from Co Fermanagh and the remaining coming from across the counties of Cavan and Monaghan.

The successful participants will have an opportunity to be awarded a Fáilte Ireland ‘Cavan, Fermanagh. Monaghan Local Tour Guide’ badges. This will enable the successful participants to access insurance as a local tour guide and to be promoted through the tourism marketing bodies north and south. The course was delivered over two nights a week over nine weeks and the assessment was conducted over two Saturdays. One these assessment days involved a coach tour around the three counties, with each of the participants taking there 10-15 minute slot on the microphone with an overview of there chosen place of interest.

On Saturday 1st December the trip began in Clones at 9.00am with the four local tour guides providing a walking tour of the sites of historical interest in the town. Rice coaches provided the coach and the participants were being carefully assessed by their course coordinator Frank Higgins and Mick Mulcahy from Fáilte Ireland. Just before 10am the coach moved off to include visits throughout the area, including Tydavnet, Castle Leslie, to Virginia, Co Cavan and West to Blacklion & Florencecourt and returning to Clones via Derrylin and Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh.

Overall there was a very positive outlook from all the participants about the prospects of tourism in the Border counties. The course organiser John Toland, Tourism Development Officer, CMRD said that: ‘the course was a success in that 21 participants have learnt a lot about the three counties in which they live as neighbors and have come to realise that there are significant opportunities for the development tourism guiding’. The participants summed up their feelings about the course by highlighting that there is a lot more to tour guiding than history, its about providing a visitor with overview of an area’s geology, archaeology, heritage, flora/fauna, geography, folklore and the people.

Most of the participants are examining the possibilities of providing local guiding services in there area and some are already making plans to establish their guiding service in the coming months. Some in particular are further on than others, with Jerome O’Loughlin from Belleek, Co Fermanagh whom has set up his own Ecotours business (www.irelandecotours.com ) Contact details for all of the qualified ‘Cavan, Fermanagh, Monaghan Local Guides’ can be found on www.cmrd.ie

Picture: Heather Bothwell addresses the group of local tour guides about a ‘fen’ near Redhills in Co Cavan. A fen is a type of wetland fed by groundwaters which are unique environmental habitats which are teeming with flora, fauna and wildlife.
Included in picture above L to R are: Gerry Brady – Tullyvin, Heather Botwell – Killeshandra, June Brown – Monaghan, Mary Cosgrove – Clones, Mary Cunningham – Virginia, Mary Burke – Derrylin, Pamela Woods – Emyvale, Mary Nicholson – Clones, Charles Barker – Ballybay and Ian Hutchinson – Tempo, Co Fermanagh.
Picture: Kathleen Cassidy provides a tour of St Peters and Paul Abbey, Clones or as it is otherwise locally known as the ‘wee Abbey’
Included in the picture L to R are: Ian Hutchinson – Tempo, Charles Barker – Ballybay, Charlotte Wilson – Florence Court, Gerry Brady – Tullyvin, Mary Cunningham – Virginia, Mary Nicholson – Clones, June Brown – Monaghan, Jerome O’Loughlin – Belleek, Oliver Brady – Bawnboy and Kathleen Cassidy from Clones.