Internationally renowned actress Fionnula Flanagan is no stranger to expressing herself. Whether on the broadway stage, or in iconic TV programmes such as ‘Star trek’ and ‘Lost’, Fionnula has earned a reputation as a brilliant communicator.

But Fionnula has identified a coyness in the Irish character that often prevents us from expressing ourselves; “There’s still a great hesitancy in the Irish make up about expressing feelings... it’d be nice to say I miss you, I love you, come home”.

Fionnula is urging us to collectively overcome this reluctance to extend a welcome to the Irish diaspora and invite them to Ireland in 2013 so they can reconnect with the land of their ancestors.

Visiting the west of Ireland as part of RTÉ’s ‘The Gathering: Homeward Bound’ series,  Fionnula was brought to a desolate ‘ghost village’ of twelve abandoned cottages facing the Atlantic coast. According to the 1911 census, each of the ruined cottages was populated with families, totaling 59 people. Now these people are long gone and their descendants are living in many corners of the world.

“There’s not one village in Ireland that hasn’t been touched by emigration” Fionnula was told on her visit. Wouldn't it be great to reach out to the descendants of those who left and invite them to their ancestral home? 

This is exactly what the organisation ‘Ireland Reaching Out’ aims to achieve as it re-connects some of the 71 million of the Irish diaspora worldwide with the parishes and villages they actually came from. 

Why not create a gathering in 2013 and invite the many people worldwide with Irish heritage back to these shores? Create your gathering in 3 easy steps here.