1st June 202 will mark the launch of EMBRACE, a new immersive experience provider in Northern Ireland. The company will be led by Hugh McCloy who has over 10 years experience in the tourism sector which includes working strategically with local councils and the statutory boards.
EMBRACE aims to provide new experiences not readily available in Northern Ireland by working with providers across the sector to develop new day and stay activities for local and international visitors.
EMBRACE has been greatly affected by the onset of Covid-19 in terms of what new experiences could be launched however the EMBRACE A Giant series will be the first of many new experiences to launch. It was a case of back to the drawing board, though we seem to never have enough time this was an opportunity to spend time to get the experiences right.
The EMBRACE A Giant series will concentrate on the Eastern Sperrin Mountain & Mid Ulster areas while following the life and history of the Irish High Kings Colla and their descendants, including St Lurach who founded the 6th Century Church in Maghera, but more importantly the story of Callann Mor, a giant who is buried on Sieve Gallion.
Giants have long become a story of myth and legends though myths and legends always come from stories of real life, EMBARCE A Giant will prove to you that Giants are real, that Giants lived here in Northern Ireland, and that Giants blood still runs through our veins.
Embrace A Giant will also take you to several key neolithic and megalithic sites in the area including Knockoneill Tombs and Beaghmore Stone Circles, some of the monuments that you will visit are among the oldest standing monuments in Ireland, predating that of Newgrange Stoneage Age Tomb in County Meath.
Given the scale of monuments, stone circles and standing stones in the Sperrin Mountains EMBRACE A Giant will open an Eastern Gateway to the Sperrin Mountains to unleash a history that has not been told in hundreds of years. It is clear from what remains that this area held a substantial Stone-age civilization that prospered though the ages to present times.
"I look forward to releasing more information very soon on other experiences, while Covid has changed the tourism world as we know it that does not mean that we cannot innovate within the new norm" Hugh