The lord mayor of Manchester, Elaine Boyes, is to pay an official visit to Mayo as a guest of the Mayo Emigrant Liaison Committee.
The visit will take place from September 14 to 16 when she will attend several engagements throughout the county.
One of the highlights of her trip will be the annual Diaspora Awards presentation dinner at the Welcome Inn Hotel, Castlebar, on the Saturday night. The recipients of these awards are Manchester Irish Festival Committee; Jim and Andrea McKenna (former lord and lady mayoress of Leeds ); Michael Ring (Minister of State for Tourism and Sport ); Brendan Mulvey (Birmingham ); Addergoole Titanic Committee; and the Institute of Irish Studies, University of Liverpool.
Another event on Friday, September 14, at the Linenhall Arts Centre, will be chaired by Castlebar native Tomás Langan. The John Kennedy, CBE, annual lecture will be delivered by An Taoiseach Enda Kenny.
Other guests at this event will be Sir Patrick Duffy, Doncaster, Professor Marian Elliott, University of Liverpool. This lecture is organised annually by the Mayo Emigrant Liaison Committee and is fully booked out.
