Number of visits to Ireland rose by 16.6% in first quarter

North American visitor numbers were up by 24.5%, new CSO figures show

Dublin's Christ Church Cathedral Pic: Ireland's Content Pool

The number of trips to Ireland byoverseas visitors rose by 16.6 per cent in the first quarter to 1,785,300, new figures show.

The data for the period from January to March, released by the Central Statistics Office, showed the number of arrivals from Britain rose by 17 per cent while visitors from other European countries were up by 14 per cent.

The number of North American residents coming to Ireland was up by 24.5 per cent while visitors fromelsewhere increased by eight per cent.