Kerry County Museum has been accepted into the prestigious Viking Destination Association.
The Council of Europe appointed the association to manage a special Viking travel route, which links places across Europe that were important during the Viking age.
The Viking Cultural Route includes ancient settlements, trading posts, heritage sites and museums that celebrate Viking history.
The travel experience stretches across many countries, akin to a giant Viking trail for visitors to explore.
Kerry County Museum has now been confirmed as a new member of the group, because of its important Viking artifact collection.
The museum’s collections include more than 300 Viking artefacts from Cloghermore Cave near Tralee, which was excavated in 1999/2000 by county archaeologist Dr Michael Connolly.
The council says developing and marketing Kerry as a Viking destination would undoubtedly have an enormous impact on international tourism.
Manager of Tralee municipal district, Niamh O'Sullivan told councillors that there are also opportunities to link in with existing marketing strategies relating to Kerry’s connection with Newfoundland.
Until now, Dublin and Waterford were the only members of the Viking Destination Association in Ireland.
