Hibees Tours will be History lesson for locals

[Greenman]

Hibees' Irish tour will be a history lesson for local fans

DAVID HARDIE


HIBS have launched an aggressive drive to tap into the lucrative Irish market as part of their six-day tour of the Emerald Isle, it was revealed today.

While Celtic, Manchester United and Liverpool dominate in the Republic, Hibs believe that even gaining a foothold will open up an important new revenue stream.

Moves have already been made to raise the club's profile in Ireland and that will continue as Tony Mowbray's side play three matches, one in Cork and the other two in Dublin over the space of four days.

Colin McNeill, Hibs director of marketing and communications, said: "Most people in Ireland would recognise there is a link because of our name but I'd imagine a very small percentage are aware of the full story.

"It is a great story of how the club was formed in 1875 - before Celtic - and the struggle the early Irish immigrants had in the Cowgate, which became known as Little Ireland.

"We've been telling the story of the club's origins over the past few days on our website and, in Ireland, one of our directors Steve Dunn, who is also chairman of the Hibernian Historical Trust, has done a series of interviews with the national media on our heritage.

"We are, of course, a Scottish club with no prejudices, whether it be religion, race or whatever.

"Our badge has three symbols, the harp, the castle and a ship, representing Ireland, Edinburgh and Leith.

"We have a rich heritage, one we cannot ignore and, in visiting Ireland for the first time in 20 years, we are going back to our roots." While Mowbray and his players will be working hard on the training pitch in preparation for the new season so, too, will McNeill be striving to meet as many business people as possible.

He said: "We've been working with a team of guys over there to help all the commercial aspects and I have a series of meetings set up in and around a whole range of commercial issues.

"These sort of things don't happen overnight, however, but we have to raise the club's profile and make people in Ireland aware of our story.

"In the current financial climate it is important to try everything possible to bring in additional revenue and this is a good opportunity for us to build on our heritage and roots.

"Celtic, Manchester United and Liverpool are huge in Ireland and, while we will never be as big as those three, if we can get a fraction of the business they derive from there, then that would be great for us and that's the view we are taking.

And McNeill revealed that the club has already made moves to help realise that plan. "We revamped our online store deliberately and, while we have an active supporters' branch in Dublin, we are also hoping that, having seen the team in action, potential fans will take advantage of the cheap air travel between Ireland and Edinburgh to come over and see them play here in the future."

[scaredyhibby]

Originally Posted by Greenman

Hibees' Irish tour will be a history lesson for local fans

DAVID HARDIE


HIBS have launched an aggressive drive to tap into the lucrative Irish market as part of their six-day tour of the Emerald Isle, it was revealed today.

While Celtic, Manchester United and Liverpool dominate in the Republic, Hibs believe that even gaining a foothold will open up an important new revenue stream.

Moves have already been made to raise the club's profile in Ireland and that will continue as Tony Mowbray's side play three matches, one in Cork and the other two in Dublin over the space of four days.

Colin McNeill, Hibs director of marketing and communications, said: "Most people in Ireland would recognise there is a link because of our name but I'd imagine a very small percentage are aware of the full story.

"It is a great story of how the club was formed in 1875 - before Celtic - and the struggle the early Irish immigrants had in the Cowgate, which became known as Little Ireland.

"We've been telling the story of the club's origins over the past few days on our website and, in Ireland, one of our directors Steve Dunn, who is also chairman of the Hibernian Historical Trust, has done a series of interviews with the national media on our heritage.

"We are, of course, a Scottish club with no prejudices, whether it be religion, race or whatever.

"Our badge has three symbols, the harp, the castle and a ship, representing Ireland, Edinburgh and Leith.

"We have a rich heritage, one we cannot ignore and, in visiting Ireland for the first time in 20 years, we are going back to our roots." While Mowbray and his players will be working hard on the training pitch in preparation for the new season so, too, will McNeill be striving to meet as many business people as possible.

He said: "We've been working with a team of guys over there to help all the commercial aspects and I have a series of meetings set up in and around a whole range of commercial issues.

"These sort of things don't happen overnight, however, but we have to raise the club's profile and make people in Ireland aware of our story.

"In the current financial climate it is important to try everything possible to bring in additional revenue and this is a good opportunity for us to build on our heritage and roots.

"Celtic, Manchester United and Liverpool are huge in Ireland and, while we will never be as big as those three, if we can get a fraction of the business they derive from there, then that would be great for us and that's the view we are taking.

And McNeill revealed that the club has already made moves to help realise that plan. "We revamped our online store deliberately and, while we have an active supporters' branch in Dublin, we are also hoping that, having seen the team in action, potential fans will take advantage of the cheap air travel between Ireland and Edinburgh to come over and see them play here in the future."

Sounds like good pr ! If the club get extra revenue from this tour then all the better for the clubs future.