Joe O'Reilly (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I warmly welcome the delegation. It is a great pleasure to see them here. I had the privilege of meeting representatives of the Canada-Europe Parliamentary Association in a Council of Europe context and it is a double pleasure to meet them again. I hope they have a happy stay in Ireland and leave with good memories of the country. I know the delegates have strong links with Ireland, through kinship and otherwise.

The constituency of Cavan-Monaghan, which is represented by Senator Kathryn Reilly and myself, has extraordinarily strong links with Canada. The area of Bailieborough, where I live, and the town and county of Monaghan saw huge emigration to Canada. I believe there is a little village called Bailieborough and an area called Monaghan in Canada. Friendship links have been established between Monaghan County Council and Canada, with great effect. The Canadian ambassador to Ireland has visited my area of Canningstown in Bailieborough a few times. I believe a Prime Minister of Canada had direct family links with the area. The kinship ties between the constituency I represent and Canada are enormous. My remarks do not do justice to the strength of those ties. There is considerable documentary evidence of emigration, family links and villages and towns established in Canada by people from the Cavan-Monaghan area. The same family names and place names crop up frequently. There has been considerable exchange between our two countries. For that reason, it is a particular pleasure for me, as a representative of Cavan-Monaghan, to welcome the delegation here and to applaud their presence.

When we have The Gathering in Ireland next year and we bring the Irish diaspora and people with connections to Ireland back to the country, we would be delighted to see a considerable Canadian contingent among their number as part of that great celebration. As well as a kinship in blood, we have a kinship in ideas and commitment to democratic principles, the rule of law and human rights, and we have many shared values about the rights of people and the significance of every individual. Our kinship in those areas is just as significant as our blood kinship.

I acknowledge the family connection of Mr. David Tilson, MP, with my constituency. He has a direct connection which I have discussed with him previously. I can identify for him the Tilson families in Cavan to whom he is related.