Lively Up Yourself

When your dog just isn’t that photogenic…

frica Day 2022 took over Burnaby Park on Saturday, and sure, wasn’t there grooviness, exotic grub and glamorous grans everywhere you turned…

Yep, it was a riot of colour and cool, with music, dancing, workshops, games and the kind of costumes that would make a young David Bowie swoon.

And making sure that there was a record of the day, snapper supreme John Hickey was there to capture it all.

Here’s the official lowdown on the day…

African Irish Society of Wicklow marked its first outdoor countywide celebrations for Africa Day on Saturday, May 21st.

Exhibitions from Tanzania, Kenya, Nigeria and Malawi made for colourful backdrops for the wide variety of traditional African costumes present.

The day was officially opened by the chairperson of the association, Catherine Murphy. The Cathaoirleach of Greystones, Cllr Lourda Scott, gave a warm welcoming speech, followed by the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Lesotho to Ireland, His Excellency Sekhulumi Ntsoaole, who gave a wonderful speech where he emphasised the partnership between Ireland and the African Continent.

The event kicked off with beat boxing by Abood Aldham, followed by Rhythm Africana, who wowed the crowd with their full-band performances, followed by No Wahala Dance crew with their astonishing African dances.

Gomba Educare treated the crowd to a story telling session whilst Irish Aid had a massive life-sized snakes and ladders game for children and adults.

Across the road, Greystones Library has a wide selection of books under the African theme placed at their summer reading hub right by the door. The public are invited to enrich their knowledge of the African Continent through a wide selection of African literature.

To end the day, the vice chairperson, Annie Waithira Burke, thanked everyone for making the day a success.

Africa Day is an international day that commemorates the foundation of the Organisation of African Unity, now African Union (AU) in 1963. It falls on May 25th each year.

Susan Ngereso McDaby of AISW Africa Day team thanked all the stake holders for their support. This would not be possible without the Department of Foreign affairs, Wicklow County Council, Kenyan embassy, the exhibitors and the public who took part.

Boom! You can find out more about the African Irish Society of Wicklow on their Facebook page here, or get in touch on aiswgroup@gmail.com. 

Full gallery of John Hickey pics in hi-res free to download here.