Destination – Milwaukee Irish Fest in Wisconsin, is where the delagation will be seeking to attract some of the estimated 150,000 festival goers to Ireland.
Internationally, Brian Ború is celebrated for his contribution to uniting Ireland and quelling the destabilising impact of the Vikings. Born in Killaloe in East Clare, Brian Ború became the only undisputed High King of Ireland and today is regarded as the most significant figure in Irish history.
Ború is a central theme of this year’s Milwaukee Irish Fest which covers 74 acres of Lake Michigan’s shoreline and showcases Irish music, history, dance, drama, sports and culture. The Festival is also used by tourist agencies such as Tourism Ireland, Aer Lingus and CIE Tours as an opportunity to market Ireland as a desirable tourist destination.
Mid West representatives will include, Jane Halloran Ryan, a genealogist from Tulla; Úna Kierse, a historian from Killaloe serves as Chairperson of Killaloe Ballina 2014; bow maker Jack Pinson is an expert on the weaponry of the era of Ború; Kincora Traditional Music Group is based in Ballina/Killaloe.
Kincora’s leader, Michael Hackett, is an ethnomusicologist and an expert on the music of the time of Ború. Songwriter Michael Scanlan has written a song about the life of Ború; Donnagh Gregson, a Bunratty-based chef, will be hosting cooking demonstrations at Milwaukee Fest’s Cooking Tent – the Celtic Kitchen
See www.brianborumillennium.ie and www.irishfest.com for more.