President Catherine Connolly paid tribute to the approximately 20,000 Irish people living in Spain at an event in Barcelona yesterday evening.
President Catherine Connolly spoke to a group of invited Irish people describing the relationship between the two countries as having become the subject of myth and legend due to its longevity.
Newstalk reporter Tom Douglas told The Pat Kenny Show the event was the Irish ambassador to Spain’s first time to actually get a chance to meet the president since she took office.
The ambassador mentioned that he was to be able to put on that event in a really beautiful hotel in a really beautiful city looking over at the National Art Museum.
President Catherine Connolly spoke to a group of invited Irish people describing the relationship between the two countries as having become the subject of myth and legend due to its longevity.
Catherine Connolly also recognised the huge impact the GAA has had on the region with clubs in Barcelona, in Sitges and in Girona.
“I was really delighted to hear how many of these clubs in Catalonia are made up of the majority of Catalan players”, she said.
“It really is heartening how enthusiastic local Spaniards have taken and thrown themselves into learning the skills of our nation’s sports.
“In addition, it also gladdened my heart because it tied in with an event that I attended in Dublin recently when we launched four currachs onto the Liffey.
“Then I come here to find out that there's an annual currach regatta held every year.”
The president mentioned both countries and their commitment to peace dealing with their legacies and echoed her comments from that summit of left-wing leaders that had taken place earlier in the day.
“We must work together to eliminate inequality and create the conditions for an enduring, just, and lasting peace throughout the world”, Newstalk heard.
“We have absolutely nothing to lose by adopting that approach and everything to lose by joining in the narrative of the normalisation of war”.
Ireland and Spain's ties
Newstalk reporter Tom Douglas met GAA players who were very keen to tell him how great the club is.
One named Anna described her story “as having one foot in one camp” since her mother's from Dublin and her father's from Girona.
Murcia. Picture by: David Bagnall.“She told me she grew up in Spain but has had that attachment to Ireland”, Mr Douglas told The Pat Kenny Show.
The young woman said she was born and raised in Spain but would return to Ireland every summer as her mother was Irish.
“To me, Ireland is this weird nostalgic place that I've never lived in, but I've heard a lot about because my mum has told me about it”, she told Newstalk.
“I kind of inherited my mum's nostalgia and at this moment now it's kind of brought me back to wanting to learn more and read more about Ireland and go back and know more people from there”, she added.
With additional reporting from Tom Douglas.
Main Image: President Catherine Connolly.
