Susan O'Keeffe (Labour) | Oireachtas source

It is ahead of it. It will allow the Senator that for the moment. My great uncle Tom Cooper took the idea underpinning The Gathering to heart many moons ago. He published his own brochures, took the ferry to England, travelled all around northern England and handed them out. That was in the days when there was no e-mail and very little technology. He organised for a bus to collect tourists from the boat in Dublin, drive them to Kerry where they were looked after in his hotel for two weeks and for the bus to bring them back to Dublin. He understood very early on the concept of The Gathering and that it was up to individuals to publish brochures, take the ferry to England and gather in the tourists. Fortunately, we can do it on a grander scale now. It is probably something we all have in our genes; we know about the need to bring people here.

When I first heard about The Gathering and read about the various festivals I thought it was a competition for rather peculiar names for events such as the pirates and slaves unite, the billabong big wave, Paddy McGinty's boat and the hedge school. I began to wonder what on earth was going on but in a way I love that idea. It is a terribly creative concept. Perhaps the most oddly named one is the Scattering Gathering, which transpires to be a visual arts exhibition in Waterford to remember those people who have emigrated from Ireland over many years and to celebrate those who have come to settle in Ireland. We also gather people from other places. In that way The Gathering has sparked our great Irish imagination in terms of activities across the board ranging from walking, surfing, cycling, bodhráns, flutes, storytelling, soccer, the GAA, film, poker, food, piping and drumming, police officers gatherings, bangers and barges. I am disappointed there is no jam making event and I am very surprised somebody has not come up with the idea of poitín making.