Irish News of Belfast Reports on
Tommy Makem International Festival of Song
Festival praised by world leaders
By Simon Doyle, The Irish News
World leaders last night heaped praise on south Armagh as
the region celebrated its first post foot-and-mouth tourism
boost.
Former US president Bill Clinton and taoiseach Bertie Ahern were
among world leaders who sent congratulations following the successful
Tommy Makem festival of song.
The festival came to a glittering finale with a special jubilee
concert celebrating the songwriter,s 50 years in show-business.
Hundreds of international visitors attended the concert that
was the culmination of a four- day long song festival in the
Ring of Gullion.
Political leaders, comedians and musicians such as Art Garfunkel
and Harry Belafonte also sent messages that were read out at
the event in Mullaghbawn.
President Clinton said Tommy Makem had contributed immensely
to the songs and culture of Ireland from his days with the Clancy
Brothers to the present time, and congratulated him on his contribution
to Irish-America.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern praised the Keady-born singer for his
outstanding role in the promotion of Irish song across the world
and said he remained a source of inspiration for many.
The festival, which was the first major tourism push in south
Armagh since the FMD outbreak, involved lectures and cultural
tours to help focus positive international attention on the Ring
of Gullion.
It also included the dedication of the Emigration Stone in Derrynoose
outside Keady where a large glacial stone was raised up in memory
of all those who left Ireland down the ages.
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