Conradh na Gaeilge is working in association with ArtsEkta and Cackle MGMT on “The Walk” - a festival of art and unity to welcome Little Amal
Little Amal is the 12-foot puppet of a young Syrian refugee child at the heart of ‘The Walk’. She has become a global symbol of human rights, especially those of refugees.
From 16 - 25 May as part of ‘Belfast 24’, Amal will visit Ireland and will get a taste of the Irish language on her journey. 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. There will be a range of special, free of charge, celebrations for all the family to enjoy and plenty of opportunities for irish-speaking families to see, hear, and use their Irish.
Ahead of the events, Connlaith Ní Raifeartaigh, Manager of Céad Míle Fáilte, Conradh na Gaeilge, said:
“We are incredibly excited ahead of Little Amal's visit to Ireland and particularly welcome the news that an Ghaeilge, the Irish language, is central to these community events. An important theme throughout our "Céad Míle Fáilte" project is to show that the language belongs to us all and that both Conradh na Gaeilge and the Irish-language community welcome refugees to our country. We are delighted to be working with organisers ArtsEkta and Cackle MGMT to create the important image that we are sharing our native language with Amal the little refugee.”
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.”
Among the many events taking place, representatives from the Irish language community will officially welcome Amal on Thursday 16 May at the opening ceremony in Belfast. They will be participating as members of the Tuatha dé Danann tribe in Gráinne Holland’s closing ceremony on 19 May and will go on to meet Amal again in Dublin at the “Fáilte Amal” event on 23 May.
For more information and full list of all events, visit https://www.walkwithamal.org/little-amal-belfast-to-dublin/
