TV: Cork links to Canada and US explored

Emigration has long connected Cork to the nations of the world - and we get an insight into that bond in Nationwide next week.

The Rebel County’s links to Canada are remembered, while another episode of the series celebrates the Choctaw Nation’s ties to Cork.

First up, Nationwide on RTÉ1 on Monday at 7pm explores the enduring links between Ireland and Canada.

Two centuries ago, 11 ships carrying emigrants departed from the port of Cobh bound for Canada, part of a resettlement project organised by a British government official and known as the Peter Robinson Settler Emigration Scheme, which took place between 1823 and 1825.

Last year, some of the descendants of those emigrants returned to Ireland to mark the 200th anniversary of this journey that changed the course of their families’ history.

Reporter Marian Malone met several of them during their visit to the homeland of their ancestors in the Ballyhoura region of north Cork and south county Limerick.

The programme also tells the story of a Canadian step dancer who made the west of Ireland his home more than a decade ago and has since immersed himself in Irish culture.

Now living in Connemara, Nathan Pilatzke has introduced his dancing style to the Irish traditional music scene. Reporter Tommy Stenson travelled to Leitir Fraic to meet him.

Then, Nationwide on RTÉ1 on Wednesday at 7pm examines the connection between Ireland and the Choctaw Nation of Native Americans which has flourished in recent years.

Reporter Richard Downes travels to Choctaw lands in the U.S to learn about life in the community today and to experience one of their traditional sporting games, which is not too unlike hurling.

In Cork city, the team meets a Choctaw student taking part in a scholarship programme at UCC.

The monument of Indian feathers in Midleton stands as a tribute to the generosity of the Choctaw Nation, who sent financial aid to Ireland during the Great Famine.

A similar monument featuring both Celtic and Choctaw designs was unveiled in the Choctaw homeland in Oklahoma. RTÉ’s Washington Correspondent, Sean Whelan, attended the unveiling and has been finding out more about the Choctaw people.