Australian Ambassador takes tour of Kells

The Australian Ambassador to Ireland, Bruce Davis, visited Kells last week where he was presented with a painting of the artwork featured on flags flown in both the Sydney and Kells St Patrick's Day parades. The theme of the parade in Sydney this year was 'The Book of Kells' and, to mark the link between the two towns, local artist Patrick Morris designed a flag, which was carried in both parades. Mr Davis visited Kells on Tuesday of last week where a reception was held in his honour in the Chamber of Commerce's new offices at Castle Street. The cathaoirleach of Kells Town Council, Cllr Conor Ferguson; Kells Chamber president, Geraldine Gaughran, and the Kells area manager Kevin Stewart were among those who welcomed him to Kells. Mr Stewart invited the ambassador to come back to Kells to play a complimentary round of golf, while Daniel Conaty of Kells Anglers presented him with a permit for a day's fishing in Kells and a Kells Anglers jacket. At the reception, Mr Davis met Willie and Suzanne Dolan, Kells natives who are home on holiday from Australia, and Mickey Owens, whose son Michael lives in Australia and who contacted the Chamber about marking the connection between Sydney and Kells. The ambassador also met members of the Kells People's Resource Centre and a number of other local organisations. He was then given a tour of the historic sites in Kells and was shown around St Colmcille's Church by Rev Asa Olafsdottir. Mr Davis said he was very interested in history. His wife was due to join him in Ireland soon and he said he intended to come back to Kells with her and do a number of the different walks around the town. He was also brought to see the historic Headfort House and met the headmaster of Headfort School, Dermot Dix. The artwork Mr Davis was presented with last week, which featured on the flags, were inspired by indigenous Australian and Irish art and featured the Irish Wolfhound and the kangaroo. Mr Davis was the second diplomat to visit Kells in just seven days. The deputy US ambassador, John Hennessy-Niland, visited Kells the previous Tuesday to turn on the new green lighting at the Spire of Loyd for St Patrick's Day. The greening of the lights was part of a worldwide initiative by Tourism Ireland which saw well-known monuments around the world bathed in green light, including the Table Mountain UNESCO World Heritage Site in South Africa and London's Millennium Eye to help showcase Ireland's tourism product to a huge global audience.