
A ceremony was held today in front of the City Hall, on Merchants Quay, next to the Wild
Geese fountain to mark what should have been the second edition of the Limerick Bastille
Day Wild Geese Festival.
The first edition of Limerickโs new annual Summer festival was held last year, at King Johnโs
Castle, and attracted over 1,000 visitors. It was jointly organised by the Limerick City & Countyย Council and the Consular Agency of France in Limerick.
The second edition was scheduled toย take place at King Johnโs Castle on 12 July as part of the European Expo 2020 but was cancelledย due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Back in February of this year, the Consular Agency of France in Limerick teamed up with theย Limerick Civic Trust for the organisation of all future editions of the festival. Following theย cancellation of this yearโs festivities, they nevertheless decided to hold todayโs symbolic
ceremony to mark the occasion.
Members of the Limerick branches of the I.U.N.V.A., the Naval Association of Ireland and theย O.N.E. (associations of ex-service men and women) attended the ceremony during whichย officers from the 12th Infantry Battalion of the Defence Forces raised the Irish, French andย European flags.
The Mayor of Limerick, Cllr Michael Collins, gave a speech and laid a wreathย to honour the memory of the 10,000+ Irish rebels who bravely fought alongside French troopsย during the siege of Limerick before being forced to go into exile following the signing of theย Treaty of Limerick in 1691.
Most of them ended up settling in France and played an importantย role in perpetuating the already strong connections between the two countries. Cllr Michaelย Collins said: โToday we are commemorating and celebrating the links between our two greatย nations.
In particular the Wild Geese, all 10,000 soldiers and 4,000 women and children who
travelled to France under the command of Patrick Sarsfield, a person indelibly connected withย this great county of ours and the impact they had on France once they arrived. Now more thanย ever we must work closely together and build on these strong ties and foundations for theย benefit of us allโ.
The commemoration of this crucial historical episode known as the Flight ofย the Wild Geese and the celebration of the longstanding friendship between France andย Ireland are at the core of Limerickโs yearly Bastille Day Wild Geese Festival.
Mr David OโBrien,ย CEO of the Limerick Civic Trust said โWe want to thank Tom Toomey, Mick McCarthy, Colm deย Barra, and all the other members of the Wild Geese Committee, a sub-group of LCT, whoย worked tirelessly, linking the Trust with the Consular Agency of France in Limerick, to bringย about this event and who will continue to make great plans for next yearโs celebrationsโ.
Drย Loรฏc Guyon, Honorary Consul of France in Limerick, said: โNext year we will be commemoratingย the 330th anniversary of the Flight of the Wild Geese and, together with the Limerick Civicย Trust, we are already planning a weekend-long festival packed with cultural events andย entertainmentโ.
Dr Guyon and Mr OโBrien wish to thank the board of the Limerick Civic Trustย and, in particular, its very supportive chairman Thomas Wallace OโDonnell and express theirย gratitude to Dr Pat Daly and his LCCC team, headed by Gordon Daly, whose support have beenย key to making the event happen.