Has Tyrone really got nothing to offer?

TO the shock, dismay and, frankly, disgust of many proud citizens of Tyrone, the Irish Times have revealed that the hallowed land of O’Neill is one of only nine apparently attractionless counties not to receive a single nomination in a search for ‘The Best Place to Holiday in Ireland’.

The competition sets out to discover the single-best holiday destination on the island – be it town, village, city, island, or distinct – and the mechanism by which they endeavour to do so requires members of the public registering their nominations by writing a short submission explaining what makes their destination special.

But so far, with zero nominations, Tyrone sits in the bad company of Armagh, Carlow, Derry, Laois, Limerick, Meath, Tipperary and Westmeath.

Many of those who have garnered a high portion of nominations so far have come as no surprise, with counties like Cork, Kerry and Donegal – who have long held the a monopoly on the Irish summer – each receiving about 20 nominations.

However, some eyebrows have been raised by the radically high number of nominations received by a few counties not traditionally thought of as possessing a wealth of holiday appeal.

Monaghan, a neighbouring county not renowned as a tourism hot-spot, has received 44 nominations so far, nearly twice as many as second-placed Kerry.

But, regardless of the potentially rule-bending tactics employed by other counties, Tyrone still sits voteless.

Is this because the good people of Tyrone just didn’t hear of the competition, or, more disconcertingly, is it that we think that the boundless Sperrins, the historic Hill of O’Neill and the time-warp that is Ulster American Folk Park are attractions without purchase?

Surely, even a cynic of the most epic proportions would recoil from answering the latter question in the affirmative.

So, to enter your nomination just write a short pitch – no longer than 300 words – stating why you think it should win.

To nominate go to www.irishtimes.com/bestplace.