Links between Newfoundland and Ireland were celebrated in Wexford recently, with the third annual festival organised by the Waterford Estuary-Newfoundland Festival of the Sea Committee.
The festival alternates every year between Ireland and Newfoundland. A delegation from Newfoundland visited for a series of events held in Wexford, Waterford and Kilkenny. These included workshops aimed at enhancing links between commercial fishing enterprises between the two regions, a community development conference, and a history conference exploring links between Kilkenny and Newfoundland.
Nearly half of Newfoundlanders today are of Irish descent; during the pre-Famine era a large number of people from Ireland’ s southeast settled there. The festival is meant to foster collaboration in the cultural, educational and business sectors. Organisers say the festival’s three pillars are:
- celebrating the history and culture of the linked communities
- promoting local, sustainable community amenities
- identifying and responding to community development issues.
Visit these sites for more information:
- Newfoundlandireland.com – includes a journal of this year’s festival.
- Festivalofthesea.ie