Little Amal, a 12-foot puppet of a 10-year-old Syrian refugee girl, has been in Northern Ireland in recent days and will continue her journey to Dundalk and Dublin this week as part of her inspiring tour around the world, titled The Walk.
The puppet of Little Amal was designed and built by Handspring Puppet Company, who created the puppets for the international hit play "War Horse."
Since July 2021, Little Amal has visited 16 countries and has become a global symbol of human rights, especially those of refugees.
Little Amal arrived in Belfast on May 16 as part of the city's creative celebration programme Belfast 2024. While there, Little Amal had a busy schedule, including meeting the Lord Mayor and being crowned the city's May Queen.
Thank you for visiting Belfast, Little Amal!
A special thanks to everyone who turned out at the various locations & for welcoming her to our city.
We wish you well as you continue your journey ✨@artsekta @walkwithamal @visitbelfast pic.twitter.com/JyfoHqOhhb
— Belfast City Council (@belfastcc) May 20, 2024
Little Amal arrived in Derry on Monday, and on Tuesday, she traversed the Peace Bridge and visited the Free Derry Corner.
What a wonderful sight to see beautiful Little Amal make her way through the streets of Derry today.
— Mayor Derry Strabane (@mayordcsdc) May 20, 2024
Let’s all keep Little Amal ❤️in our hearts as she continues to share her story and create awareness of those suffering from the consequences of war and persecution. pic.twitter.com/7rbqDIfhKy
Little Amal's journey continues on Wednesday, May 22 with a busy day with three stops. First up, she will be at the ‘Dare to Dream by the Sea’ event at 10 am in Newcastle.
She’ll then take part in the ‘Crossroads at Newry’ event at 1 pm in Newry, and later the 'Ag teacht le Chéile' (Coming together) event at 6 pm in Dundalk.
On Thursday, May 23, Little Amal will be in Ireland’s capital city, Dublin. She’ll be treated to a special welcome event at 10 am and will later be at the ‘Scéalta ar an ngaoth (Stories on the wind)’ event at 3:30 pm.
Little Amal will conclude her Irish visit on Friday when she’ll be featured at the 'Turas ár gcuimhní (Trip of memories)' event at 7:30 pm followed by the 'Tonnta ag lúí na gréine' (Tonnta at sunset) event at 9:15 pm.
Ahead of Little Amal's arrival, Conradh na Gaeilge said it was working in association with ArtsEkta and Cackle MGMT on “The Walk" to give her a taste of the Irish language.
With the help of the new Conradh na Gaeilge initiative, ‘Céad Míle Fáilte’, the Irish language community in both Belfast and Dublin will get a chance to meet Little Amal, speak their “cúpla focal” with her, and welcome her with open arms to the many events taking place.
Ahead of the events, Caoimhe Connolly, Creative Director of Cackle MGMT for Amal’s Dublin programme, said: “The Irish language is interwoven through all the events, reflecting how our mother tongue informs our music, our poetry, our expression as storytellers and as Irish people.
"It was essential for us to highlight our country’s language, history, and heritage during Amal’s visit and we are very thankful to Conradh na Gaeilge for their support in doing so.
"The Céad Míle Fáilte project has a lovely synergy with what we are trying to achieve through our series of events and it’s so encouraging to see the Irish-language community get behind welcoming Amal, and in effect all refugees, to Ireland.”
Céad Míle Fáile, Amal 🧡 https://t.co/Z3E62wHI7W
— Conradh na Gaeilge ⭕️ (@CnaG) May 18, 2024
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