Diaspora Minister connects 21,000 Irish abroad to Galway homecoming

The Minister for the Diaspora connected 21,000 Irish people abroad to the Galway hurlers’ homecoming through Facebook Live.
Galway East TD Ciarán Cannon conducted an hour-long broadcast last night from Ballinasloe, with members of the diaspora tuning in from 12 countries around the world.
Minister Cannon said: “The Facebook Live broadcast has been seen by 21,000 people over the last 12 hours.
“Members of our diaspora from 12 countries including 9 US states tuned in, with one viewer watching while on a flight to Memphis.
“Social media is regularly criticised for having a negative effect on society, but in this instance it demonstrated its power as a tool for communicating instantaneously with people all over the world.
“Every one of the people who watched from abroad was Irish and was grateful for the opportunity to watch what was a very special event in Galway life.
“There are approximately 70 million members of our diaspora worldwide and if we are serious about really engaging with them, we need to see much more extensive use made of technology, in particular the technology that almost every one holds in their hand right now.”
ENDS