Mayo Man of the Year, Mr. Joe Kennedy, has strongly defended and supported the proposal by Castlebar Town Council to invite Queen Elizabeth to visit the Mayo Peace Park during her official state visit in 2011.
He said the proposal to invite the Queen should be welcomed and encouraged by everyone in Mayo.
He made his comments in the course of thoughtful speech during his first visit to the Mayo Peace Park in Castlebar, after which he laid a wreath in memory of all the Mayo men and women who died in the World Wars.
Mr. Kennedy said if Queen Elizabeth actually visited Mayo, it would be the greatest thing that could ever happen in the county and the benefits for the long term promotion of the region would be enormous.
The chairman of the Mayo Peace Park, Lft. Col. Noel Byrne, Retd., welcomed Mr. Kennedy and paid tribute to him for his benevolent work and support for charitable causes around Mayo.
He also commented on the great work he had done for the ongoing development of Ireland West Airport Knock.
He thanked Mr. Kennedy for visiting the Peace Park, which he said was now a major tourist attraction for coach tours as well as international and local visitors.
Mr. Byrne urged the local authorities to look at the provision of a tourist centre for the park.
The Mayor of Castlebar, Councillor Ger Deere, and the Cathaoirleach of Mayo County Council, Councillor Michael Burke, paid tribute to Mr. Kennedy for his outstanding work promoting Mayo.
Mr. Kevin Bourke of the Mayo Emigrant Liaison Committee and Mr. Michael Feeney, MBE, secretary of the Mayo Peace Park, made presentations to Mr. Kennedy to mark his visit.