This article is from page 72 of the 2008-10-28 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 72 JPG
SHANNON will play host to the celebration of a major festival by the Indian community in the mid-west, this weekend.
An Indian cultural programme to celebrate Diwali festival is poised to attract some 200 people to the Oakwood Arms Hotel, on Sunday evening (starting at 6pm).
Diwali is also known as ‘The Fes- tival of Lights’ and is India’s biggest festival. Diwali, a religious and cul- tural festival, celebrated by Indians worldwide. Its celebration date is
today, October 28, but the special event in Shannon will be marked on Sunday.
The event is being organised by the Midwest Indian Irish Society (MIIS). One of the organisers Paramyit Neote said there are up to 80 people from India currently living in Shannon.
“There is a large community of Indians living in Shannon, Limer- ick and Ennis. The idea is to bring them together and celebrate the event together and also to promote Indian culture in the local community,” he nee
Mr Neote moved to Ireland 20 years
ago and has worked in the Shannon area since then. He was born in Ken- ya and his parents hailed from India. He lived in Malaysia with his fam- ily for some time, prior to moving to Nyat-veveteyel
On moving to Shannon in 1988, he set up Shannon Aircraft Motorworks in the Shannon Free Zone. It was later sold to an American company and Mr Neote currently works as a business consultant.
“When I moved to Shannon, at the time Tony Ryan was very active in trying to bring aviation groups here. We were very much encouraged to
come to Shannon,” he said.
“The MIIS was set up a couple of years ago. Its main purpose was to help people to settle in here. We got to the stage where we had to get a larger scale,’ he added.
‘We see there is a need to promote an awareness of our group,’ Mr Ne- ote said.
Sunday’s event will include a short prayer, a welcome speech by the MIIS and a speech from Tara Chand, the first secretary, Embassy of India. There will also be two hours of In- dian cultural events performed by lo- cal artists, a dinner and dance.