A TOTAL of 1,026 people have signed up to be goodwill ambassadors for Dublin to help introduce tourists to the capital.
The City of a Thousand Welcomes scheme launched yesterday had hoped to have up to 1,000 ambassadors in place by the time the campaign opens on Bloomsday, June 16th.
Free guides are appointed to visitors who register with the scheme. The ambassadors will meet tourists in Dublin for a cup of tea or a pint at one of three Dublin institutions – the Merrion Hotel, Bewley’s Cafe and the Porterhouse pub – and tell them about the city.
All ambassadors are voluntary and unpaid. The scheme already has many famous Dubliners on board including Victoria Smurfit, Bill Cullen, Graham Knuttel, Mario Rosenstock, Rosanna Davison and David Norris.
The plan is the brainchild of Trevor White, who said he had been “overwhelmed” by the response of Dubliners so far. People “from all walks of life and all ages” had signed up, he said.
He said the aim of the scheme is to remind people that Dublin has an “extraordinary reputation for hospitality and for welcoming people”. And he sees it complementing the work of Tourism Ireland so that visitors can come to the country in “the confident expectation that they will meet friendly people”.
Prospective ambassadors will have to take a short multiple choice quiz about Dublin before their registration is complete.
“You don’t need to be an expert on James Joyce or anything like that but you do need to have a passion about the city and to be a proud Dubliner,” Mr White said.
Questions include: On which street was Handel's Messiahfirst performed, which famous Robert went out with Sarah Curran and how much did it once cost to cross the Wellington Bridge?
All ambassadors are subject to a Garda vetting process for security reasons.
Dublin city councillor Mannix Flynn described the plan as a “fantastic initiative”.
“Every tourist is a stranger but we’re going to reverse that . . . the initiative intends to make sure the visitor stays and gets a personalised history of the place.”
More information on becoming an ambassador is available at cityof athousandwelcomes.com
COULD YOU BE AN AMBASSADOR FOR DUBLIN? ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:
On which street was Handel’s Messiah first performed?
1. Grafton Street
2. Fishamble Street
3. Sackville Street
Which famous Robert went out with Sarah Curran?
1. Robbie Fox
2. Robert Emmet
3. Robert Louis Stevenson
How much did it once cost to cross the Wellington Bridge?
1. Two crowns
2. A halfpenny
3. €20
Where is the official residence of Dublin’s Lord Mayor?
1. Grafton Street
2. Dawson Street
3. Merrion Street
What is the real name of the Secret Gardens?
1. Iveagh Gardens
2. O’Connell Gardens
3. Archbishop Ryan Park
What is St Stephen’s Church better known as?
1. The Pepper Canister
2. The Pillar Pole
3. Trinity College Chapel
Name the famous Dublin author who was born in Kilbarrack in 1958.
1. Mannix Flynn
2. Colm Tóibín
3. Roddy Doyle
Where would you find Crann an Ór, the Golden Tree?
1. Outside the Central Bank
2. On the Treasury Building
3. Portobello Bridge
In what park did the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein sit and write?
1. The People’s Park
2. St Stephen’s Green
3. Botanic Gardens
