The National 1798 Rebellion Centre will be officially re-launched to much fanfare in the town of Enniscorthy on May 24. The Centre will host free celebratory activities during ‘Rebellion Weekend’ on May 25 and 26 with offerings for the family including a Druid Chef, traditional pike drilling and food foraging amongst some of the activities to mark the occasion.
 
The Centre was officially opened in 1998, during bi-centenary commemorations, to illustrate the significance of the 1798 Rebellion. According to the centre Manager Jacqui Hynes the exhibition was in need of upgrade and this brand new exhibition tells the story of the 1798 Rebellion in a vivid and exciting way, with the audience being taken on a journey by General Lake, John Shehan who is ‘The Croppy Boy’, the United Irishman leader Anthony Perry, and the dreaded ‘Tom The Devil’. Visitors will learn, in gruesome detail, how some 20,000 insurgents faced the might of 10,000 well-trained and well-armed Crown Forces in an exciting new audiovisual display.
 
According to Jacqui Hynes, Manager of the 1798 Centre, “The brand new re-development has increased appeal to a wider tourist audience. The project was funded by Wexford Local Development to the value €178,000 and supported by Wexford County Council & Enniscorthy Town Council.”
 
Jacqui says “The vision for this project was to re-develop our tourist attraction, to ensure the visitor offering is fresh, innovative, informative yet fun, accessible to all, and in a position to positively attract visitors to our town, county and region. We also upgraded and enhanced our existing displays and the way the story of the 1798 Rebellion is told.”
 
The 1798 Rebellion is accepted as the beginning of a long road to democracy and independence in Ireland, and insights to life during the period will be available for everyone to get involved in at the free Rebellion Weekend during May 25 and 26. Re-enactors and characters from the brand new audio-visual tour will roam the grounds of the 1798 Centre looking for talented pikemen and women, and telling their tales of life and their strategy for the upcoming battle.  The blacksmith will be on hand showcasing the techniques of making pikes and weapons and scores of traditional music plus food foraging for Rebellion food and tasters of food of the period will also be on offer along with cookery demonstrations of food from the time by the Druid Chef Rory Morohan.
 
Primary school children are invited to take part in pikeman training, and by the end of the weekend a 350 person strong force of pikemen will have learned the skills of battle in the 1700’s and the blacksmith will also have shown them how to keep their pike in tip top condition and ready for battle.
 
Commenting on the free Rebellion Weekend Jacqui said, “We are delighted to be able to offer free family activities during the Rebellion Weekend.  It is a great opportunity to learn about a pivotal moment in Ireland’s history through action and engagement, and kids will have the opportunity to become a pikeman or woman for the day and really get in insight to what life was like in 1798.”
 
For further details and to keep up to date with the events of the Rebellion Weekend visit the Facebook page. 

The Connemara country house and sporting lodge, the Delphi Lodge, is taking responsibility for its part in Famine deaths by participating in the annual commemorative famine walk. During the Famine, Delphi Lodge turned away hundreds of people who later perished from hunger, cold and disease.

The latest census figures from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Branch show that Catholics in Northern Ireland are more likely to be unemployed or living in overcrowded conditions with worse health than Protestants.

Forget about hotels or bed and breakfasts. Treat yourself like real royalty during your next vacation to Ireland and stay at one of these historic castles.

LA Galaxy captain Robbie Keane could miss a dream date at Wembley against England later this month due to club commitments.

Graeme McDowell is happy to commit to Ireland by playing at golf’s World Cup in Australia this winter – and wants Rory McIlroy to do likewise.

Stolen Snake
GARDAI are investigating the theft of a six foot long Albino Boa Constrictor from the Duleek area. The snake, named Jenga, was stolen from a log cabin at the rear of the property outside Duleek in the early hours of Saturday, May 4.

Ireland’s recession is hitting the young hardest and fuelling the growth in emigration according to new research.

At a time when Ireland’s social and economic challenges are at a crossroads, Darren Ryan is an Irishman in a hurry.

What a country this has become. A child in Cork falls out of window and is badly injured. A motorist comes on the scene immediately and calls 999 emergency, only to be told there was no ambulance available and to pop the toddler into his car and take him to a local medical clinic.

Ireland has an opportunity to become an example of best practice in diaspora engagement and policy.  That’s according to the organisers of the European strand of the Global Diaspora Forum, which is taking place in Fitzpatrick’s Castle Hotel in Killiney over the next two days (14th and 15th May).
 
The Global Diaspora Forum is a celebration of diaspora communities, and has been held annually in Washington DC since 2011.  The forum is coordinated by the International Global Diaspora Engagement Alliance (IdEA), the US Department of State and the US Agency for International Development.
 
The European strand was organised by the Irish International Diaspora Centre (IIDC) Trust, which is working to deliver a world-class diaspora centre in Dublin.  The Trust operates under the auspices of Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company.
 
Opening the conference, Gerry Dunne, CEO of Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company, said: “Despite its size, Ireland punches far above its weight when it comes to diaspora issues.  This makes us so well-placed to be the first partner, outside of the US, to collaborate in the delivery of the Global Diaspora Forum.
 
“Ireland’s diaspora – estimated to be in the realm of 70 million – have permeated every corner of the globe and most professions, ranging from medical to political to culture and the arts.  This Irish diaspora experience is an enormous untapped resource, which we are only awakening to.  By reaching out to our diaspora, we can create communities centring on business, technology and the creative industries.  We can share ideas and collaborate to bid for business and implement initiatives for the common good.
 
“However, diaspora engagement needs to be facilitated by governments,” said Mr Dunne.  “Given the scale and good reputation of Ireland’s diaspora, we are ideally placed to become a best-practice model in terms of how we engage with our diaspora communities and how we implement policies and structures to maximise benefits.
 
“Issues such as voting rights for diaspora; structures for creating business linkages; and ways to help generations of diaspora connect with their roots are some of the areas that can be explored as measures to maximise the benefits of connecting with our diaspora.  Of course, diaspora communities who have established themselves in Ireland in recent decades present another area from which we can garner new insights and connections.
 
“This Global Diaspora Forum is about exploring diaspora engagement and its benefits.  Given plans by the Irish international Diaspora Trust to create a world-class diaspora centre at Dún Laoghaire Harbour, we are delighted to be in a position to host this historic event.  We hope that it will be the precursor to much more proactive diaspora engagement in Ireland and at an EU level,” added Mr Dunne.
 
Speaking ahead of his input to the forum, the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Eamon Gilmore said: “I look forward to addressing and meeting the international and Irish experts who will gather inDún Laoghaire. Ireland is extremely fortunate to possess a diaspora that makes an enormous contribution to our country.  The forum allows us to share our experience and to learn from others.

The Irish are notorious for sharp tongues.