The European strand of the Global Diaspora Forum took place in Killiney, Dublin, on the 14th and 15th of May this year and was attended by 200 delegates from around the world. The two-day programme included seven themed workshops with contributions from a wide range of leaders on diaspora matters.

The Kinsale Arts Festival is inviting friends old and new back to Kinsale for Come Home for Your Tea Party, in celebration of the Gathering.

Being Irish not just an Irish thing, of the 70 million people worldwide who claim Irish ancestry, only about 5 million are actually Irish citizens. This year, anyone with the slightest connection to Ireland has been invited home for The Gathering 2013. Some have viewed the initiative cynically, as a way for a bankrupt state to haul in a few extra tourist dollars. However, in the hands of ordinary people, the Gathering may yet prove to be a profound thing.

Conference Partners has officially launched the Irish World Cup 2013 event, an amateur soccer tournament open to both male and female adult soccer teams of all skill levels from all over the world. The event will take place from the 7th to 9th June 2013 in University College Dublin, and promises to be the largest seven-a-side tournament since the London 2012 Paralympic Games. With player packages starting from €40 per person, everyone from soccer enthusiasts to those seeking a holiday with a difference, are encouraged to gather and register a team and come to Ireland to play a minimum of six matches for the chance to win a prize pot of €5,000 and a VIP day out at a World Cup Qualifier game; Republic of Ireland vs. Sweden on September 6th.

Failte Ireland, Ireland’s National Tourism Development Authority, has said that The Gathering is already benefiting the Irish economy.

Every Kerryman, at some stage in his life, has considered becoming an Escort at the Rose of Tralee International Festival and this year is no different.

Paul Byrom, one of Ireland’s premier tenors, has partnered with The Gathering Ireland 2013 and Tourism Ireland as an ambassador of Irish music on Ireland’s global outreach initiative. 

The Leitrim Genealogy Centre is organizing the return of the Leitrim Roots Festival for September 2013. The Leitrim Roots Festival hopes to attract anyone who has connections with Leitrim.  Its aim is to get visitors to spend a week in Leitrim and get to know the beauty and history of the county of their ancestors. The festival is also for visitors who want to have a genuine Irish experience and interact with local communities and it is for Leitrim people who would like to experience all that their home county has to offer.

The Rose of Tralee International festival is reconnecting with over five million people who have attended the festival since 1959, for the extended Rose Gathering celebration which will take place from 14th to 16th August 2013.

“Finally,” I remember thinking when I first heard of The Gathering Ireland.

Louth people coming back to Ireland in this, the year of The Gathering 2013, are being asked to make history by giving just an hour of their time to a unique audio history project where they recount their and their family’s stories of living in Louth and abroad.

This years’ 2013 Manchester Irish Festival has teamed up with Tourism Ireland and the 2013 Gathering in Ireland campaign. It is expected to attract over 200,000 people to its ten day celebration. The Irish Cultural extravaganza is set to feature over 200 events at 80 venues, making it Europe’s biggest Irish event outside of the Emerald Isle.