A Kilkenny village in Brussels

A KILKENNY village has appeared in Brussels. But it will have a life of only two weeks.

The village is part of a major Irish festival in the Belgium capital spanning the weeks before and after St Patrick's Day.

The organisers, a group of Irish business people who are putting a special focus on Ireland to coincide with the national holiday, were so impressed with the material that they received from Kilkenny Tourism that they decided to call the village 'The Kilkenny Irish Village'.

Maura Hickey, Kilkenny County Council's Tourism Officer, told Kilkenny Alive that she contacted all the major tourism interests in Kilkenny regarding the Brussels promotion, and all responded enthusiastically.

Hoteliers, guest house owners, sports and leisure organisations, Rothe House and Woodstock and Castlecomer Discovery Park, all sent on a lot of promotional meterial to the Belgium capital including brochures and booklets. A 20 minute DVD on the city and county was also dispatched.

As well, hotels offered short breaks in the city and county as prizes for various competitions.