Bringing Ireland to France to bring the French back to Ireland

Last Wednesday, Ireland Week was launched in France.
This event is held to strengthen the strong tourism links between France and Ireland.

During Ireland Week, Tourism Ireland offered several opportunities to showcase island of Ireland experiences.
The Ireland-France relationship evokes memories of our shared Norman, Huguenot and Celtic heritage, the Flight of the Wild Geese at the end of the 17th century and the spirit of the French Revolution a hundred years later which so captured the imagination of Wolfe Tone and the United Irishmen.
The objective is to create an Irish experience in France. French attendees enjoyed food and drink tastings from across the island of Ireland, workshops, demonstrations such as, bread making, Irish language lessons, Irish dancing, Irish crafts and virtual reality experiences, all demonstrated by industry experts from the island of Ireland.

Organised by Tourism Ireland and Failte Ireland it brought together leading figures in the tourism industry.
During his launch speech the Irish Ambassador to France H.E. Niall Burgess emphasised the importance of the tourism industry to the Irish economy.
With over 400,000 tourists from France to Ireland annually, making the country home to our fourth highest number of visitors, Mr Burgess stressed the importance of continuing to promote our shared culture and heritage.
France is very important for Ireland, it's the fourth largest market destination for Irish food and drink.

Longford was present at the event with a representative of the Maria Edgeworth Centre in Edgeworthstown deputising.
Paris and Edgeworthstown, and indeed Longford, share important cultural and heritage links. From Abbé Edgeworth, who played a significant role in the final days of the Royal Family during the French revolution, to the female author Maria Edgeworth whose novels and works were translated into French, the French capital has lauded Longfordians.
Another connection is the defeat of the French forces who came to Ireland’s defence in 1798 at Ballinamuck.

Maria Edgeworth visited Paris on a number of occasions and was welcomed into French literary and cultural circles during her visits.
The Maria Edgeworth Centre has plans to develop this network with the aim of attracting more French visitors to the midland region.

The Maria Edgeworth Centre was represented at the event by Matt Farrell and its representative and friend in Paris Cécile Déjardin.
“It was a very valuable experience,” Matt told the Leader.
Ireland Week is a unique event bringing Ireland to France and France back to Ireland.