Ireland agrees bid to host Tour de France start

The island of Ireland intends to pursue a joint North-South bid to host the opening stages of a future Tour de France in either 2026 or 2027.

Catherine Martin TD, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media and Minister Gordon Lyons MLA have today submitted an expression of interest in the formal bidding process to the Tour organisers.

Officials in both departments will now collaborate on the development of a detailed bid to host the event, ideally in either 2026 or 2027.

Ireland last hosted the Le Grand Départ in 1998.

The agreement comes following engagement between Martin and Lyons, most recently last week in Belfast. The Ministers discussed the potential joint bid to host the opening stages of a future Tour de France and they agreed that such an event would have significant tourism, sports and wider benefits for the island of Ireland.

Catherine Martin TD, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, said: "Hosting the world's greatest cycle race would be an exciting opportunity for the island of Ireland. I was delighted to meet Minister Lyons again during my recent trip to Belfast and to agree to express a joint interest in hosting three full stages for Le Grand Départ of the Tour de France, ideally in 2026 or 2027.

"Our shared experience in hosting major sports events, our cooperative approach in marketing the entire island of Ireland as a tourism destination, and the wonderful scenery and céad míle fáilte that awaits visitors to Ireland could all combine to create an amazing all-island event. This collaborative process has my full support and I will engage with colleagues across Government on this in the coming weeks."

Minister Lyons added: "Securing the opening stages of the Tour