COMEDIAN and television presenter Jimmy Carr, whose parents are from Limerick City, has become the latest personality to be presented with ‘A Certificate of Irish Heritage’.
Carr was presented with the Certificate by Mayor Kathleen Leddin on behalf of Limerick City and County Council ahead of his sold-out performance at the University Concert Hall last weekend.
Joining a list of luminaries alongside Tom Cruise, Caroline Kennedy and Daniel Day Lewis, Carr said he was “honoured and delighted” to receive the Certificate, which is signed by the Taoiseach and recognises the contribution made by members of the Irish Diaspora worldwide.
Handing over the certificate to the presenter of Channel 4’s ‘8 Out of 10 Cats‘, Mayor Leddin commented: “Jimmy is very proud of his parental connections with Limerick and certainly has an emotional attachment to the city and to Ireland.
“He was very honoured to receive the certificate, which I think is a wonderful initiative to recognise and celebrate Ireland’s Diaspora.”
“We are delighted that Jimmy has confirmed that he is planning a return to Limerick in 2014 when the city becomes Ireland’s first National City of Culture,” the Mayor announced.
As part of the Gathering Ireland initiative, each local authority was invited to nominate a person of Irish decent and born outside Ireland, to receive a ‘Certificate of Irish Heritage’.
“We nominated Jimmy Carr to receive such a certificate given his parental connections to Limerick City, and we are delighted that he accepted our offer,” explained Limerick Gathering coordinator, Mary Killeen Fitzgerald.
