Kilkenny Leader Partnership (KLP) is providing support to rural communities in Kilkenny to participate in the Reaching Out programme. The Ireland Reaching Out programme is based on a simple idea; instead of waiting for people of Irish descent to trace their roots, we go the other way. Working at a townland, village and parish level in Ireland, we identify who left those areas, and trace them and their descendants worldwide and then invite them to return home.
KLP is launching a brand new ‘Reaching Out’ programme, offering a range of workshops, field visits and seminars to give you all the information and tools you need to ‘Reach Out’.
If you are interested in finding out more about the people that lived in your parish and reaching out to their descendants around the globe then come along and find out more.
Speaking of the project, Fergus Horgan, Development Officer at KLP said “”From its beginnings Ireland Reaching Out has shown how ‘reverse genealogy’ can engage the diaspora to bring real social and economic benefits down to parish level. We are excited to bring these programmes to Kilkenny, ”
The pilot programmes will run in Castlecomer and Kilmacow starting on the 27th and 28th May respectively. To take part and for a full list of dates, please email your details to one of the contacts below.
Elise MacDonald ‘Reaching Out’ Project Manager E: elise@luxevents.co.uk
Jim Wilson ‘Reaching Out’ Project Manager E: info@mckenzie-wilson.co.uk
About the Ireland Reaching Out Programme
The project was founded in South-East Galway by tech entrepreneur Mike Feerick in 2009 and has been funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Heritage Council, the Atlantic Philanthropies, the Ireland Funds, Galway County Council, Galway Rural Development (GRD), and Irish-American sources. Sponsors include Google, Guinness, An Post, and the National Library. In Dec 2011, the project launched a global partnership with the GAA, agreeing to link newly identified members of the Irish Diaspora to the network of nearly 500 GAA clubs worldwide. Well-known broadcasters and economists David McWilliams and George Lee have been prominent supports of Ireland XO pointing out the extraordinary economic potential of the project, which rises well beyond the immediate and obvious tourism opportunity. The Ireland Reaching Out project aims to connect over million people through the project by the end of 2013. It believes it can achieve a database of 10 million members of the Irish Diaspora, including delivering one million additional visits to the island of Ireland by 2016http://www.irelandxo.com
You can also download application forms and further information from the below links.
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