FÓRSA General Secretary, Kevin Callinan will launch this year’s Corofin Festival of Finn.
A former President of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, Callinan will travel to Corofin on Thursday May 2nd to address the opening night of this year’s Festival of Finn/Féile Finne, on the issue of the past and present Irish experience of immigration as well as its likely future.
He will also perform the official launch of this year’s festival. Kevin, whose father Patrick was a Corofin native, is one of the most widely experienced trade unionists in Ireland and was the lead trade union negotiator with government on the recent national public service pay deal. He is also chair of the ICTU Public Services’ Committee and is currently a member of the Irish National Economic and Social Council as well as being an executive member of the European Public Services’ Union.
At a recent ‘Ireland for All’ rally, Kevin stated, “We must speak out and challenge those who are peddling hate speech in our communities”. Proud of his Clare heritage, Kevin is a supporter of the Clare senior hurling team. Clare TD, Cathal Crowe (FF) and Senator Martin Conway (FG) have both indicated that they will attend the address.
This year’s Festival of Finn/Féile Finne takes place over the coming May Bank holiday weekend. Organisers have promised it will be the biggest and best held Festival of Finn in Corofin to date, featuring many new events with a major emphasis on creativity and artistic awareness.