A delegation of Mayo representatives newly returned from an Irish Festival in the United States of America were greeted by a 'sea of green and red' as the Irish diaspora turned out in force, where the message to 'visit Mayo' was heard loud and clear by over 100,000 attending the event.
According to Mayo County Council, Mayo was very well represented at the largest Irish Festival in the world last weekend, when the Milwaukee Irish Fest saw over 100,000 guests descend on Henry W. Maier Festival Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin from Thursday, August 17th to Monday, August 21st.
The council stated: "A delegation from Mayo County Council led by Cathaoirleach Cllr Michael Loftus, Cllr Damien Ryan and Cllr Michael Burke, was on hand at the festival to promote all that is good about Mayo as a tourism destination and also as county that is open to investment.
"The delegation attended several stakeholder meetings over the course of a busy weekend including an official gathering at City Hall, with Cathaoirleach, Cllr Michael Loftus saying of the trip: 'Selling Mayo as a tourism and investment location is one of the most important things we do as councillors. The Milwaukee Irish Fest is the largest festival of its kind in the world, and it allowed us to not only promote Mayo as a tourist destination to over 100,000 people, it also let us make valuable connections with our Diaspora in the USA to spread the word that Mayo is open and waiting for them to come'."
Mayo County Council had a promotional stand at the festival alongside Leitrim County Council, Donegal County Council and Galway City and County Councils, and noted with delight that the Mayo Diaspora was out in force in the Irish Destinations areas, forming a sea of green and red for much of the weekend.
Other members of the Mayo County Council delegation included Mags Connell, Administrative Officer, Mayo Communications Department, and Eleanor Hussey from the Local Enterprise Office who represented Mayo County Council for the duration of the festival, promoting Mayo and all that it has to offer.
The council added: "All were busy spreading the Mayo Day and Home to Mayo message, with Mayo Day set to celebrate its tenth birthday next year, and were on hand to speak with many visitors to Mayo County Council’s stand who spoke of their plans to visit in 2024.
"On the music stages Mayo was also well represented with five artists and groups headlining over the weekend, including world champion fiddle player Eileen Ivers, Lisa Canny and her band, Boxing Banjo, Enda Reilly and The Glencastle Dancers all putting on stunning sets."
The full complement of Mayo artists came together on the Aer Lingus main stage on the Saturday evening of the festival for a rousing rendition of the Green and Red of Mayo in front of a jam-packed crowd - while throughout the weekend, the Mayo message to come over and visit was heard loud and clear by all.
