TWENTY-FIVE parishes across Ireland have expressed an interest in copying the “Ireland Reaching Out” initiative held last summer in which the descendants of emigrants were invited to visit south-east Galway.
Some 30 visitors from the UK, the United States, New Zealand and Australia responded to invitations from local people and the organisers are hoping that a multiple of that number can be attracted next year to Ireland.
The “week of welcomes” began with a reception at Cloghan Castle in Kilchreest, Co Galway, and included a tour of all the parishes in east Galway, a “Who do you think you are?” day focusing on family trees, a real Irish wedding and a hurling match.
The “Ireland Reaching Out” programme came as a direct result of the first Global Irish Economic Forum in Farmleigh two years ago. It was started by American-born internet entrepreneur Mike Feerick, who is based in Galway.
The idea behind the project is to find out who left parishes in Ireland in the past, and to trace their descendants.
It is the opposite of what traditionally happens where people with Irish ancestry try to trace their descendants themselves.
Last evening in Loughrea saw the launch of the second Ireland Reaching Out programme, which takes place in southeast Galway next summer.
Mr Feerick said 25 parishes will be attending from all over the country to find out how it is done and at least 10 have committed to such an initiative next year.
He maintained the focus of Ireland Reaching Out is different from “the Gathering”, which was announced at this year’s Global Irish Economic Forum, although they both have the goal of drawing people of Irish extraction back to Ireland.
The initiative is coming from community volunteers and not the tourism industry, he said.
“We proved the concept could work. We kept it small last year to ensure that we did it right. We are hoping to bring many factors of that next year to the same region. We want to bring in several hundred people,” he added.
Mr Feerick said they had learned a lot from the first Ireland Reaching Out programme that they could share with other interested parties.
The initiative has been funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Atlantic Philanthropies.
Mr Feerick said training was very important for volunteers both in how to look after guests but also on awareness of how to access genealogical records.
He estimated that of the 70 million or so people with Irish roots around the world, only about 10 to 12 million of them are actively engaged in their Irish background.
Sending out details of a person’s Irish ancestry had an “enormously persuasive power” in enticing them to Ireland, he said.