Frankie’s Angels! The ladies behind the Donegal Diaspora website along with Mayor Frank McBrearty at today’s launch
The Mayor of Donegal has called for an amnesty to allow the undocumented Irish in the US to return home during the year of The Gathering.
Cllr Frank McBrearty was speaking as he launched the Donegal Diaspora website in Letterkenny this afternoon.
Mayor McBrearty said he was an avid supporter of The Gathering and its aims.
But he said everyone must be able to avail of the opportunity to return to wherever in Ireland they have their roots.
“Many of our brothers and sisters have been scattered to the fours corners of the globe through no fault of their own in their quest to make better lives for themselves.
County Manager Seamus Neely with Cllr Bernard McGuinness at today’s launch
“Many thousands of those have found themselves in America – either legally or illegally.
“Our thoughts and prayers should be with the undocumented and hopefully this year, in the new dawn of the Obama administration, there will be an amnesty and they will be able to come home from the US,” he said.
The launch of the Donegal Diaspora website is the first time Donegal County Council has reached out to the millions of people abroad who claim to have Donegal heritage.
One of those who have worked on making the website a reality, Sally Murphy, took those on a virtual tour of all the site has to offer.
Ms Murphy said she is really excited about the project and how she expects the numbers of people visiting the site to grow in the coming days, weeks, months and years ahead.
As well as portraying all Donegal has to offer, the website also features countless stories on Donegal people who have made their lives abroad.
One of the features of the site is a special blog section which allows people from around the globe who have Donegal connections to tell their story.
Other features include how people can invest in Donegal,
Donegal County Manager Seamus Neely said the new Donegal Diaspora website is meant for anyone in the world who has any kind of interest in Donegal.
“This Donegal global community, our ‘Pobal Domhanda’ is made up of people who have left the county in recent times, of descendants of those who have left over past decades and centuries and of those who have developed an interest in the county for one reason or another.
“This website is for those many people so they can keep a link with the county of Donegal wherever on our planet they find themselves,” he said.
The website is www.donegaldiaspora.ie
Special guests at today’s launch of the Donegal Diaspora website