UK & IRELAND PREPARE TO CELEBRATE VIBRANT NIGHTLIFE
The annual celebration of the Purple Flag programme, which recognises excellence in the management of the evening and night-time economy in the UK and Ireland, will be taking place on the weekend of the 2rd – 4th October 2015.
Towns and cities across the country are planning a wide-range of events to not only showcase the quality, diversity and vibrancy of their evening and night-time economy, but also to challenge the common negative, stereotypical perceptions about the safety and quality of our town and city centres during the evening.
In Ennis, the Purple Flag Working Group consisting of members from Ennis Gardaí, Municipal District of Ennis, Ennis Chamber, Evening and Night-time business owners and managers and Ennis Taxis have organised awareness building and informational highlights during the time of the Purple Flag weekend. In particular, a mall stall will be found at Dunnes Stores on Friday 02nd October giving information about Purple Flag and Ennis shops have been encouraged by Ennis chamber to take part in a purple window competition. The O Connell monument will be lit in purple and purple flags will be flying in the town.
Chairman of the Ennis Purple Flag Working Group Cllr. Johnny Flynn said: “Ennis having been the first town in Ireland to be awarded Purple Flag in 2013 and having successfully gone through its renewal procedure earlier this year, has since been joined by 13 other towns and cities all over Ireland as a destination of excellence in evening and night-time.” He continued by saying: “I have recently joined the newly formed Purple Flag Ireland networking meeting in Sligo, where representatives of 10 Irish Purple Flag towns were present. This sort of connection enables great sharing of information, which is hugely beneficial and I was able to pick up some great tips and best practice examples for Ennis’ evening and night-time as well as outline our own successes to others here.” He finished by saying: “Our focus here in Ennis continues to be on safety and perception and we are going to work even strong with Ennis Gardaí in promoting their successes and the good news stories of Ennis’ vibrant and well-managed evening and night-time.”
” As there are no figures directly available to measure what the evening & night time economy is in Ireland in terms of value and jobs it is interesting to compare with the figures in the UK where it is worth over £66bn annually, supporting thousands of businesses, employing 4.5% of the UK workforce, and significantly contributing to local economies. We all know how important that social events like the recent Ennis Food Festival are in getting people supporting local businesses in the evening time to help sustain those businesses and the jobs they provide” said Purple Flag Coordinator for Ennis, Carmen Cronin.
The Purple Flag programme is run by the Association of Town and City Management (ATCM). Shanaaz Carroll, CEO (Interim) of the ATCM said:
“There are now almost 70 towns and cities across the UK and Ireland who are proudly flying the Purple Flag after working hard to gain accreditation.
The award is not just about safety, but also the vibrancy and diversity of the evening and night-time offer — this can only be achieved by people working together and across the country we are seeing some amazing examples of this type of partnership working.
It is great to see so many towns and cities really celebrating their Purple Flag achievement and putting so much effort into the weekend.”
In Ireland the number of towns flying Purple Flag is now 14, with Carrick-on-Shannon, Cork, Navan and Swords having received confirmation of their awards this week.
For more information about Purple Flag please contact Purple Flag Ireland Manager Carmen Cronin, carmen.cronin@atcm.org or 087 6117538.
