Mayo Manchester visit China to promote Mayo Day

MAYO Manchester has gone that extra mile - or make that a few thousand - to promote Mayo Day 2016 in China.

After promoting last year’s inaugural Mayo Day with a fashion show in Ballina which saw 9.4 million around the world engage with the worldwide celebration of all things green and red, this year Mayo Manchester got a chance to visit China Fashion Week, during a family holiday, to promote Mayo Day.

Said Tony Hennigan: “Singing the Saw Doctors' 'Green and Red of Mayo' on the Great Wall of China seemed to go down really well. We were even invited into the Mercedes sponsored China Fashion Week in Beijing. Everyone wanted their picture with the Mayo flag. 

'Beijing and Shanghai alone have a combined population of just over 42 million and they are a massive potential tourism market that Mayo could really benefit from. The Chinese love Ireland, with its wide open spaces, natural beauty and abundance of talented musicians and dancers.”

A special documentary photo exhibition, called from Ballina to Beijing, a world-wide Mayo Day celebration, is to be staged in Manchester as part of a whole weekend of events to celebrate Mayo Day 2016.

After helping to get Niagara Falls turned green and red last year, Mayo Manchester have upped their game this year by organising two simultaneous Mayo Day celebrations in Ballina and Manchester.

The celebration in Manchester will feature the exhibition at Fred’s Ale House in Levenshulme on Friday, April 29. The Horseshoe pub will stage a special tradfest session and The Chorlton Irish Club will finish the weekend off with a Mayo Day fun day organised by the Keegan Academy School of Irish Dance.

Mayo Manchester will themselves be flying over to Mayo on the Friday to attend the Mayo World Convention in Belmullet and hope to stage the official Mayo Day tradfest launch on Sunday, May 1, in Ballina before they fly back to Manchester. The launch will kickstart the countdown to their annual six-day summer Mayo Manchester Tradfest which is being supported by Fáilte Ireland, Mayo.ie and Ballina Chamber.

For more details, visit www.mayomanchester.com.