The winter carnival Funderland is back in Dublin with all the old favourites and some new thrills.
The Lord Mayor of Dublin Mary Freehill performed the opening ceremony for the 25th year of Funderland, Ireland’s biggest indoor fun park held in the Royal Dublin Society (RDS).
Inside the Simmonscourt Pavillion it is business as usual for what has grown to become Europe’s premier winter carnival. The latest addition to Funderland is the Pirates Adventure, an indoor show using the latest in animatronics technology to produce life size interactive figures.
However for those nostalgic for original Funderland, the more traditional fairground attractions such as bumper cars are also available. Funderland director Norman Bird remembers a time when Ireland was backward in the funfair business. Now he believes Ireland is one of the leaders,
Due mainly to the opportunity of having the RDS, being able to introduce continental machines that are idle in the winter we can avail of them at this time of the year.
Funderland runs from St Stephen’s Day until 16 January 2000.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 18 December 1999. The reporter is Colm Connolly.
