”Lituanica II” landed in Ireland once again
The 9th festival “Fly Mayo”, organized by the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania to Ireland, Lithuanian Association in Ireland and International Lithuanian Heraldry Foundation, took place in Ballinrobe, Co. Mayo on September 25th -27th. The main event of the festival was unveiling of the monument to Lithuanian pilot Feliksas Vaitkus by Minister of Defense of the Republic of Lithuania Juozas Olekas and Ireland State Minister of Agriculture, Food and Marine Tom Hayes. The monument has been funded and set up by the International Lithuanian Heraldry Foundation.
Ambassador Rasa Adomaitienė addressed the attendees with the greetings from the President of the Republic of Lithuania Dalia Grybauskaitė, a patron of the event. Her Excellency has pointed that F. Vaitkus’ flight, which took place 80 years ago and ended in Ballinrobe, was not only an great personal achievement of the pilot, bus also an event of historical significance, which bound the people of Lithuania and Ireland in a strong and long-lasting symbolic relationship.
The Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania Mantvydas Bekešius, Kaunas municipality council member Mantas Jurgutis, members of the Parliament of the Republic of Ireland, Mayo council members, many Lithuanians and local Irishmen also participated in the solemn commemoration and later festivities in Ballinrobe.
