Sea of colour at multi-cultural celebration of nationalities

Representatives of many different cultures and nationalities turned Firhouse Community Centre into a sea of colour on Sunday, as members of the Lithuanian community led a multi-cultural celebration, titled “Dédés Rudenèlio Mugè” a day to represent the season of Autumn, Reports Ken Doyle.

The attendance including members of the Indian, Latvian, Georgian and many other nationalities turned out for the festivities.

Laima Prokofjeviene, a Lithuanian resident of Saggart and main organiser of the day told The Echo, “We’re delighted with how the day has gone. It’s great to see all of these people smiling and happy regardless of their background. They shared their food, their cultures and their stories with us. We’ve had over 1000 people here today so it’s been really worthwhile.”

“I must say, so many people were a huge help in organising today and I’d like to thank the Lithuanian Association of Ireland, as well as all of our sponsors and volunteers. The Staff at the Centre have also been wonderful to work with.”

The event was promoted with the character “Uncle Autumn” and he promised games, contests, performances and the hustle and bustle of merchants and artisans.

Uncle Autumn was as good as his word and all of the attendees had a fantastic time.

Laima adds, “Ireland is such a multi-cultural colourful place now, and we believe it’s important to understand and accept each other. Events like this are really important.”

“We can’t really talk about it yet but we have big plans for a Christmas event, so watch this space.”