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Minister of State for Tourism and Sport Brendan Griffin, launches ‘Global Greening’ Celebrations 2018 in Mexico
Today, Minister Griffin officially launched the ‘Greening’ of a number of famous monuments in Guadalajara, Mexico in a ceremony hosted by the Mayor of Guadalajara, Mr Enrique Ibarra Pedroza. It was the first Greening event in Mexico of 2018 and marked the start of Minister Griffin’s four day official visit to Mexico.
Minister Griffin said,
“I’m delighted to be here to launch my first Global Greening event in 2018, which demonstrates the strong ties of friendship between Ireland and Guadalajara and the great hope we have for the future development of our ties commercially and culturally.”
Following an official meeting between Minister Griffin and Mayor Ibarra, the Greening ceremony took place at the ‘Monument to the Child Heroes’ in Guadalajara on Sunday 11 March at 19.30. The ceremony included a performance by the local Irish dancing school, the Mexican Institute of Irish Dance.
Minister Griffin added,
“This is the third year Guadalajara has participated in the Global Greening and I was particularly delighted to see a number of Guadalajara’s public parks turned green for the first time.”
Famous landmarks across the city of Guadalajara that are in the programme are the Monument to the Child Heroes (a story intimately connected with the heroic St Patrick’s Battalion),Guadalajara City Hall, Roundabout of the Illustrious Jaliscienses, Los Arcos and Paseo Chapultepec.
The Minister concluded,
“The Greening of Guadalajara represents the strong bonds of friendship between this city and Ireland, and particularly between Guadalajara and Dublin. The two cities are ‘digitally twinned’. Both Dublin and Guadalajara are 'digital hubs' for their respective countries and have been working for several years to strengthen ties in the areas of innovation, digital creativity, education, culture, trade and investment.”
While in Guadalajara, Minister Griffin will also take the opportunity to meet with the CEO of the Creative Digital City, Mr Carlos Gutiérrez, as well as meeting with executive board members at the home of Casa Cuervo, the owners of Bushmills, the iconic Irish whiskey brand.