Manchester turned green and red
ATTYMASS brothers Lawrence and Tony Hennigan, the directors of Mayo Manchester Tourism and Business Group, teamed up with Mayo County Council again this year to stage another successful Mayo Day event.
This year Mayo Manchester turned Levenshulme green and red to celebrate Mayo Day.
The village in south Manchester, which is home to one of the biggest Mayo Diaspora communities in the UK, had the Mayo flags flying high as it took over four venues.
M19 bar and music venue hosted a special Mayo Day tradfest headlined by The Murphy Sisters from Claremorris, who were making their UK debut at the event. The event also featured the award-winning Fianna Phadraig Pipe Band who this year are celebrating their 70th anniversary and kicked off the event with an outdoor performance which brought the village to a standstill.
They also made a surprise visit to Fred's Ale House, Cibus Pizza Restaurant and The Union Music venue who were hosting a Mayo music night with Mayo singer songwriter Mike Fox.
Other performers on the night included Moor Irish trad group who are relatives of Mayo GAA captain Cillian O'Connor. The group wore their Mayo shirts with pride when they performed live at the concert. Irish dancers were provided by the Manchester based Grace Kennedy School of Irish Dancing, whose Mayo roots stem from Westport where they still have a house. Fiddle player and dancer Colleen Langan stunned the audience with a performance straight out of the hit Irish dance show Lord of the Dance.
Tony Hennigan, director of the group, commented: “It was a great night of Irish culture, celebrating our Mayo roots and the immense amount of talent we have in Mayo and Manchester.
“We were delighted to host the UK debut for The Murphy Sisters who went down a storm with those lucky enough to get a ticket for the show.
“Mayo Manchester have been involved in the Mayo Day initiative since it started and we always get a great support here in Manchester.”
Hotel Westport sponsored a night for two at their four-star hotel in Westport which was won by Maureen Duggan. Westport House sponsored a two-day pass for the adventure park which was won by Mary Heneghan, and the meal for two at The Cheeky Pig Restaurant in Foxford was won by Teresa Murphy.
Mayo Manchester organise the annual Mayo Manchester Tradfest which is now in its sixth year and is being staged in Mayo from Thursday to Wednesday, August 2 to 8, with over 100 events all over the county.
For further information visit www.mayomanchester.com.