A LOCAL councillor said that members of Limerick’s African community were left scratching their heads upon turning out for Africa Day celebrations in the city this past Sunday.
According to Fine Gael councillor Olivia O’Sullivan, there was upset and disappointment when eager revellers showed up for Africa Day celebrations that never happened.
Speaking at the monthly meeting of the Council’s Metropolitan District, Cllr O’Sullivan wanted answers from the local authority on why people were let down at the last minute.
The Fine Gael councillor pointed out that “Africa Day was advertised on the Limerick.ie website and a tremendous amount of people turned up on Sunday to the Milk Market to celebrate – to no event”.
The City North representative said she had spoken to groups who bused 65 people into Limerick for the Africa Day celebrations.
“That’s families dressed in traditional attire that then had to find somewhere else to have celebrations for the children, and ended up in Arthur’s Quay Park. They felt very vulnerable in that situation,” she claimed.
Cllr O’Sullivan urged the Council to liaise with the Limerick Migrant Integration Forum to discover the reason for the mishap.
“The organisers I spoke to were actually going to go to the Africa Day event in Kilmainham (Dublin), but they made alternative plans to go to Limerick instead as it was more local to them,” Cllr O’Sullivan said.
A source told the Limerick Post that the Africa Day no-show was down to a “human error”.
The Council’s Limerick.ie website currently shows a number of events taking place this weekend for the Africa Day Youth Cultural Festival at the Limerick Youth Service hub on Glentworth Street in the city.
Live music, dance, art exhibitions, and drumming workshops will feature in the celebrations – including the ‘Face Afrikana’ fashion show at 6pm on Friday May 23, along with a home cooking display.
On Saturday, the Glentworth Street hub will see a kids magic show, art, music, and face painting from 11am, followed by a West African food demonstration, and DJ and dancing from 3pm.
