Irish Celebration in Havana October 16-18

An Invitation to Celebrate 
Twenty Years of Bilateral Relations 
Between Ireland and Cuba with 

Mick Moloney and the Green Fields of America

Mick Moloney and the Green Fields of America will perform in concert at the Teatro Marti in Havana on October 17 as part of the celebration of twenty years of bilateral relations between Ireland and Cuba.   The event is sponsored by Barbara Jones, the Irish Ambassador to Mexico, also accredited to Cuba, who previously served as Ireland's General Consul in New York.  Leaders from Dublin are expected to attend.  

The Green Fields of America with Cuban friends in Holguin, November 2017.

This will be the fourth visit by the widely acclaimed traditional musicians of Green Fields to Havana (including at the US Residence hosted by Ambassador Jeffrey DeLaurentis), Holguin and Santiago.  Moloney is a professor of folklore at New York University who has received the National Heritage Award from the National Endowment for the Arts of the US and the Presidential Distinguished Service Award from Ireland.

The Fund for Reconciliation and Development (FFRD) which sponsored the previous tours by Green Fields is offering a program from October 16 to 18  that includes the concert, music sessions, an escorted Irish walking tour of Old Havana, and a visit to Tarara and Bacuranao beaches where New York's Captain Dynamite Johnny O'Brien landed supplies and soldiers in 1897 in support of the final war of independence.  An optional extension from October 19-20 will include an excursion to Artemisa and Matanzas provinces, including the probable birthplace of the father of Eamon de Valera, Ireland's independence leader and President .

For more about the Irish heritage in Cuba, go here.


Wednesday, October 16  

Fly to Havana, 
*  At the Provincial Library (the original US embassy) view a power point presentation on the Irish and Irish American heritage of Cuba as presented by Rafael Moya to President Michael Higgins when he visited Havana
*  Dinner on own or with Cuban friends at paladar Doña Eutimia
*  Irish music session

Thursday, October 17

*  Walking tour of Irish and Irish American sites in Old Havana with Rafael Moya 
*  Lunch at Tarara beach where Captain Dynamite Johnny O'Brien from New York delivered weapons and soldiers in    for the third independence war; visit another landing site at Bacuranoa beach
*  (optional) Early dinner with Cuban friends
*  Concert at Teatro Marti by Mick Moloney and the Green Fields of America, joined by Cubans whose Celtic ancestors immigrated from Asturia and Galecia and have mastered Irish traditional instruments and music
*  Reception (to be confirmed)
*  Irish music session

Friday, October 18

*  Join Green Fields as they engage with a Cuban school of music
*  Lunch on own
*  Visit Cuba Emprende at Centro Felix Varela, a training center for entrepreneurs sponsored by the 
    Catholic Church
*  Opportunity to visit historical sites in Old Havana or Vinca Vijia, the home of Ernest Hemingway
*  Dinner on own or with Cuban friends at paladar Atelier 
*  Opera de la Calle, Tropicana or other Cuban cultural performance
*  Jazz Cafe

Return flights are available throughout the day to Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Newark, Atlanta and New York.


Supplemental program  

Saturday,  October 19 

*  Excursion to provinces of Artemisa and Matanzas to see locations of Irish and Irish American history, including executions at Matanzas fortress, the museum at the O'Farril sugar plantation residence, and the probable birthplace of the father of President Eamon deValera; overnight in Varadero

Sunday, October 20

*  Fly from Varadero to Miami or return to Havana for flights or independent exploration


Travel will be under the Support for the Cuban People license.  Participants will book their own flights to Cuba and will pay directly for rooms in casas particulares arranged by themselves or by FFRD (approximately $40 per night).  Additional costs will be assessed for local and provincial travel, for group meals, for guide services and for organizing.


For further information, contact John McAuliff  jmcauliff@gmail.com, 917-859-9025