Distinguished former Labour Minister and President of NATO’s North Atlantic Assembly to speak at Castlebar lecture

The Mayo Emigrant Liaison Committee is proud to present the annual John Kennedy CBE, KSG, DL, Lecture, which will take place on Wednesday 07 September 2011 at 8pm (Doors open at 7.30pm) at the Linenhall Arts Centre, Castlebar, County Mayo. 

In recent years, this lecture, which explores issues concerning the Irish Diaspora, has attracted a number of high profile guest speakers including Fr. Peter McVerry, SJ and Doctor Kevin McNamara, former MP and Labour spokesperson in Northern Ireland.  This year’s event sees no exception with Sir Patrick Duffy as Guest Speaker.  This year’s lecture is entitled “Being British in Ireland and Irish in Britain”.   

Born in Lancashire to Irish parents from the village of Raith, Aghamore, Sir Patrick has long courted a love affair with Ireland spending various periods of his remarkable life in his parents’ homeland. Following the war where he served with the British Navy, Sir Patrick went on to have a distinguished academic career, graduating from London School of Economics, receiving a Phd from Columbia University, New York and earning a lectureship at Leeds University. 

Sir Patrick has enjoyed tenure as a Labour Minister and President of the North Atlantic Assembly, the parliamentary arm of NATO, during which time he chaired the Assembly’s historic 36th annual session, which included for the first time delegations from the Warsaw Treaty nations. In 1989, Sir Patrick again made history leading the first Western Parliamentary delegation, including three US senators to the Kremlin in Moscow, June 1989.

Speaking at the launch of the Lecture, Kevin Bourke of the Mayo Emigrant Liaison Committee said “We are truly honoured to have a guest of Sir Patrick’s calibre to give this year’s lecture.  It is not everyday that you have the opportunity to experience an orator such as Sir Patrick.  He has led the most intriguing life and is one of Ireland’s greatest champions in Britain.  Sir Patrick will deliver a most fascinating lecture.”

Admission to the lecture is free but booking is essential.  To reserve your place, telephone: 087 9351773 today.

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Mayo Emigrant Liaison Committee

The Mayo Emigrant Liaison Committee was founded in Castlebar in September 1999 with the aim of addressing some of the major problems facing many of the elderly Irish in cities throughout Britain and creating a whole new awareness of the difficulties confronting many of these almost “forgotten” Irish people.  The Mayo Emigrant Liaison Committee has undertaken many actions most notably, the organisation of holidays to Mayo for hundreds of vulnerable and isolated Irish emigrants in various British cities.