25.03.2015
St Patrick’s Cathedral App Embraces New Tourism Technology
St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, became the first iBeacon enabled tourism site in Ireland this afternoon (Wednesday March 25). The St Patrick’s Cathedral app was launched by Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Michael Ring, as the 13th century cathedral embraced state of the art technology.
The new app, which can be downloaded for free at http://stpatrickscathedral.ie/App.aspx, allows visitors to access multimedia information on key features of the cathedral through their mobile devices. As they walk through the cathedral the app automatically highlights points of interest on their smart phones or other wifi enabled devices.
The app uses iBeacons which are small transmitters. These have been installed at strategic locations around the cathedral and send information to visitors’ smart phones once they download the app.
St Patrick’s Cathedral is the first fully iBeacon enabled visitor facility in Ireland and the app has been developed for the cathedral in partnership with Irish company, appybeacons.
The cathedral’s Dean, the Very Revd Victor Stacey, admitted to being a technophobe but said that the use of iBeacons would help bring the cathedral’s rich heritage closer to their visitors from around the world.
Minister Ring praised the efforts of the team which helped to make St Patrick’s one of the most fabulous buildings in Dublin and the country. He complimented the developers on the excellent app which he said would allow visitors to engage with and learn about the cathedral’s life and history.
On behalf of the government, he thanked the cathedral for their efforts in engaging with tourists. “When a visitor comes into this cathedral and if they have a good experience, they become ambassadors for the cathedral and for Ireland abroad. What is happening here will help tourism and it is with great pleasure that I launch the app,” he stated.
Photo caption: Dean Victor Stacey and Minister Michael Ring explore the St Patrick’s Cathedral app at its launch.
[More photos from today’s launch are available on the Dublin and Glendalough Facebook page facebook.com/DublinandGlendalough or just click on the Facebook button at the top of the website.]