COUNTY VIEW: Mayo to welcome Palestinian Ambassador to Ireland Dr Jilan Abdalmajid

It will be an occasion of special significance for Dr Jilan Abdalmajid when she travels to Castlebar in September as guest at the 25th annual awards ceremony of the Mayo Emigrant Liaison Committee. Dr Abdalmajid is the Palestinian Ambassador to Ireland, and her visit comes just months after Ireland’s formal recognition of the state of Palestine.
That recognition, shared by Spain and Norway, represents a high water mark for Palestinian recognition overseas. Up to now, the Ambassador had been Head of Mission, a post she occupied since 2019.
Her visit to Mayo, the first in her official capacity, has been hailed by her hosts as promising to be specially memorable, and will include a tree planting ceremony to commemorate all those who have lost their lives in the current Gaza conflict. Dr Abdalmajid will follow in the footsteps of other distinguished diplomats who have graced the Mayo Emigrant Liaison ceremonies, including the former British Ambassador, Julian King, and the former US Ambassador to Ireland, James C Kenny.
Central to the visit will be the annual Mayo Diaspora Awards ceremony at the Ellison Hotel, where seven recipients will be honoured for their humanitarian work on behalf of emigrant communities, both of Ireland and globally.
Among the recipients will be the humanitarian charity, Medecins Sans Frontieres ( Doctors without Borders), that selfless organisation whose teams are providing vital medical care in war ravaged regions and in dangerous, volatile and unhealthy conditions. It is timely that the award to MSF will co-incide with the Ambassador’s visit, since MSF teams are working around the clock to provide medical care and treatment to the two million people of Gaza who have been forcibly displaced and are enduring the most extreme hardship and poverty.
Large numbers of people are seeking shelter in hospitals in Gaza, with many sleeping on floors next to the medical facilities run by MSF. Despite this, in hospitals, clinics and other healthcare facilities, patients and medical staff have been under constant bombing attack, with little or no regard for their safety.
Kevin Bourke, founder and main inspiration of the Mayo Emigrant Liaison Committee, explains that the MSF connection comes by way of a donation made as a result of the committee’s recognition ceremony on St Patrick’s Day this year. On that occasion, the recipient, Castlebar nurse Aisling Neary, donated her landscape painting to the committee; this in turn was raffled at the function and the proceeds were donated to MSF.
Since its foundation a quarter of a century ago, the Mayo Emigrant Liaison Committee has chalked up an impressive list of achievements to its credit. For several years, the group operated annual holiday visits home for those who had fallen on hard times in London and other British cities. For many of those who travelled, mostly elderly and lonely, it was the first visit home in a lifetime, and was a wonderful experience in their twilight years. The committee also established strong links with London Simon, funding a number of initiatives to help the homeless Irish. In addition, a very successful project was the setting up of a dedicated Support Group for retired exiles who were finding it difficult to reintegrate in their new neighbourhoods and to find their feet at the start.
Among those who have been honoured by the committee with Diaspora Awards over the years were Bill Durkan of Bohola; Cora Staunton; Tomas Langan, and Tony Lavelle, who founded the Castlebar and District Association in London in the 1960s, and the late Tommie Joe Duffy, who did such sterling work on behalf of the Irish emigrant community in Manchester.
Also among those whose work was acknowledged were the Egan family of Castlebar, in recognition of the work of Michael J Egan in designing the coats of arms of both Mayo and Castlebar.