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Amy Donohoe

Who is the heir of the Tayto Crisps empire Charles Coyle?

The heir to the Tayto Crisps empire, Charles Coyle is reported to be dating the former girlfriend of Eoghan McDermott, Aoife Melia.

Aoife and Charlie have been seen attending weddings together and have also gone on some luxurious holidays.

Charlie is the son of Tayto Park’s founder, Ray Coyle, who died at the age of 70 earlier this year. He is the general manager of Tayto Park, and his sister, Natalya has represented Ireland in three Olympic Games.

Read more: Ex RTE star Eoghan McDermott splits from long-term girlfriend

His Dad

Tayto Park founder and businessman Raymond Coyle launched his career by growing potatoes on land in Curraha, Meath before setting up Largo Foods. He eventually owned the Tayto brand and then opened the only theme park in the Republic of Ireland, Tayto Park in 2010.

Ray passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family on June 8 of this year.

Ray Coyle (Tayto Park)

Charlie's business success

Back in 2020, Charlie was awarded the Young Professional of the Year at the IAAPA (International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions) awards. The awards honour IAAPA members under the age of 35 who demonstrate strong leadership, teamwork, and integrity.

According to the Meath Chronicle , he said: “To be in the company of nominees from the world’s leading theme parks is a fantastic achievement. The win shines a spotlight on Tayto Park amongst the IAAPA global network and showcases the fantastic work and achievements of our Tayto Park team over the last 10 years”

Recent charity work

Tayto Park continues its charitable commitment with donations to three charities. Bumbleance received a €10,000 donation from Tayto as well as tickets for families who have availed of the service.

The Irish Red Cross received a donation of €15,000 as well as tickets for Ukrainian families who have fled their home country. The Macaca Nigra Project is a conservation group working with Sulawesi-crested macaques also received a donation of €10,000.

Charlie said: “I know I speak on behalf of the whole team at Tayto Park when I say we are so happy and proud to be able to support three great organisations that make a real difference in today’s world”.

General Manager Charles Coyle and Bumbleance CEO Brian Conlan (David McLean)

Read more: Tayto Park: A look back at the last 12 years as Mr Tayto waves goodbye to Ashbourne attraction

Tayto Park

Back in 2010, a yellow man with a tailored suit and a black hat welcomed the nation into Tayto Park. The plan was to create an American-themed amusement park that would be the first of its kind in Ireland.

Tayto Park was conveniently located 28km outside of Dublin city centre in Ashbourne, Co. Meath, which is great for tourists. It’s difficult to think of the park without Cu Chulainn Coaster, the Viking Voyage or the Rotator, but when it opened over a decade ago, it was predominantly an adventure park.

The original attractions included ziplines, a few playgrounds, a zoo and of course, the behind the scenes walkthrough experience of seeing first hand how the crisps are made. The park offered something new to do in Ireland and the Ashbourne attraction really grew throughout the years.

It has welcomed more than five million visitors since it was established in 2010. Whether it’s a day out with the family or friends, it was guaranteed to be a great day out with bird shows, a circus, the vortex tunnel, a 4D cinema, a train around the park, and a pet zoo with cute baby goats.

Perfect for all ages, there’s a junior zone theme park for the younger kids with bungee jumping, a Ferris wheel, a driving school and a carousel. The big kids aren’t forgotten about as Tayto Park is the home of Ireland's first roller coaster and Europe's largest wooden roller coaster with an inversion, the Cu Chulainn Coaster. And no matter what age you are - everyone was given a bag of Tayto on their way out.

Sean Donohoe giving Mr Tayto a high-five (Amy Donohoe)

Future plans

In 2023, Mr Tayto will say goodbye to the home he spent the past 13 years in as the sponsorship of Tayto Park in Ashbourne will end this December and it will get a brand new identity for the coming years with lots of changes planned.

A new name will be picked for the park for January 2023. Even though it’s a sad goodbye, we’re hoping the new sponsorship will provide all the good memories that we had in Tayto Park.

A rollercoaster at Tayto Park (Sasko Lazarov)

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