An all-island tourism delegation from the four main locations with connections Brian Boru will embark on a promotional drive in the United States this week.
Coinciding with the 1,000 anniversary of Boru’s death at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014, National Brian Boru Programme representatives from Clare, Armagh, Dublin and Tipperary, will attend the annual Milwaukee Irish Fest in Wisconsin where they will be seeking to attract some of the estimated 150,000 festival goers to Ireland.
Boru is a central theme of this year’s Milwaukee Irish Fest from August 14-17. Established in 1981 by members of Milwaukee’s Irish community, the Fest 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.
Members of the delegation, which includes historians, living history interpreters, genealogists, musicians, a bowyer and a folk theatre group, will also deliver a series of public lectures and demonstrations on Brian Ború’s life in culture, history, food, genealogy and music.
Among the sites and buildings associated with Brian Ború that will be promoted in Milwaukee will be Killaloe where he was born, Clontarf where he was killed, St Patrick’s Cathedral in the City of Armagh where he is buried; the Rock of Cashel where he was crowned High King of Ireland; and Lough Derg and the River Shannon where his navy was located.
A native of Ennis, Colin McGann has been editor of The Clare Champion since August 2020. Former editor of The Clare People, he is a journalism and communications graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology.