Construction starts on two new rollercoasters at Tayto Park

Construction has begun on two new steel rollercoasters at Tayto Park in Ashbourne, Co Meath.

The new rides, which have a budget of €16 million, will bring the total number of rollercoasters at Tayto Park to five. The other three are called Cú Chulainn, Flight School and Dino Dash.

A spokeswoman for the park said no information was available yet in relation to names or themes for the new rollercoasters, which would be 24m and 31m tall respectively. They are scheduled to open in 2023.

Charles Coyle, general manager of Tayto Park, was pictured at the turning of the sod of the project on Monday.

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New identity

Tayto Park is to be renamed next year after the Co Meath-based theme park and the famous Irish crisp brand announced the end of their relationship in its current form, following more than a decade of collaboration.

Tayto Snacks and Tayto Park said earlier this year that the title sponsorship for what was one of Ireland’s most popular attractions would come to an end on December 31st. There will be a new name and identity for the theme park from January 2023.

It’s understood the park, which also incorporates a zoo, is looking at a range of possibilities in terms of a new sponsor.

Mr Coyle and the management team are looking for strategic partners when the park reopens next year with a new name. He said the park’s “brand alignment strategy” was commonplace in other theme parks globally.

He added that this year saw attendance for June and July exceed pre-Covid levels by 20 per cent.

Businessman and Tayto Park founder Ray Coyle died aged 70 in June. Based in Tara, Co Meath, Mr Coyle was best-known for building up the Largo Foods snacks group, which included leading brands such as Tayto, King crisps and Hunky Dory.