Cavan set to celebrate Africa Day 2022

Event will be officially opened by Cathaoirleach of Cavan County Council, Cllr Clifford Kelly and attended by Ambassadors from Nigeria, Brazil, and Latvia.

County Cavan will celebrate Africa Day 2022 this coming weekend with highlights to include a cultural showcase and family fun afternoon at Cavan Rugby Club to mark the occasion.

The 4Cs – Cavan Cross Cultural Community – is hosting this exciting event at Cavan Rugby Club on Saturday, May 21, from 2pm to 6pm.

Participants will come both from Cavan and surrounding counties with themes for this event being African cuisine, cultural dance, and African traditional costumes.

Over 30 different African cuisines and Artefacts will also be on display and there will be African music, fashion show and football.

This year will see Ireland’s largest-ever Africa Day programme, with events being held nationwide. Africa Day 2022 will see the return of in-person events for the first time since 2019.

The Cavan event will be officially opened by Cathaoirleach of Cavan County Council, Cllr Clifford Kelly and attended by local elected representatives in addition to Ambassadors from Nigeria, Brazil, and Latvia.

Events are taking place nationwide from May 21 – 28, with Africa Day officially falling on Wednesday, May 25. Africa Day celebrations are organised by Irish Aid at the Department of Foreign Affairs in partnership with African embassies in Ireland and local authorities around the country.

Welcoming the Africa Day Cavan initiative, Cathaoirleach of Cavan County Council, Councillor Clifford Kelly said: “The African community has greatly enriched life in our county over the past number of decades and the contribution of this great continent and its people to County Cavan is worthy of celebration. Events like Africa Day promote greater social inclusion, which is a key strategic goal of Cavan County Council, and I would encourage Cavan people of all backgrounds to attend this wonderful celebration”.

Speaking ahead of this year’s celebration, Stanley Nwaneri, Chairperson of Cavan Cross Cultural Community, 4Cs, said: “This year’s event will be held under the theme: 'Celebrating cultural diversity and the contribution of people of African descent to Irish life'. We will have activities including live music, an ‘Africa vs rest of the world’ football match, cultural folk dance, Cavan migrant young talented singers, a ‘Best Dressed African’ competition and lots more.”