STUDENTS from a County Limerick school were showing their generosity this past week after raising over €1,000 for the Sarsfield Homecoming Project.
Pupils from Salesian Secondary School in Pallaskenry organised the fundraising drive to raise money for the Sarsfield Homecoming Project, which aims to bring the hero’s remains back to the Treaty City.
The project was launched in 2020 by Dr Loïc Guyon, Honorary Consul of France and Head of the Department of French Studies at Mary Immaculate College, and is now in its final stage with archaeological excavations having started last December in the Belgian city of Huy at the site that’s thought to be Patrick Sarsfield’s resting place.
The Salesian fundraising day was organised by sixth year student Alexandria Fitzgerald and her classmates Conor Lavan, Zoe Kellett and Róisín O’Gorman, and raised €1,142 for Dr Guyon’s project.
Alexandria said that she organised the fundraising drive because she is an avid history lover and that the project “really spoke” to her.
“Being an avid history fan I was inspired to organise this fundraiser with my classmates when Dr Loïc Guyon came to my school to talk about the historical episode of the Flight of the Wild Geese, what Patrick Sarsfield did for the city of Limerick and the importance of the Sarsfield Homecoming Project. It really spoke to me,” the student said.
Ms Fitzgerald continued: “I believe bringing him home is an amazing way to honour a man who is not only a heroic figure in the history of my hometown of Limerick but also an Irish national hero. Sarsfield deserves to be brought home.”
Commenting on the initiative, Dr Loïc Guyon said: “Nothing could make me prouder than to have inspired the young generation to rediscover this key figure in the history of Limerick and in the history of the relationship between Ireland and France.
“The Sarsfield Homecoming Project has been progressing very well and is in a crucial phase but it needs a lot more funding in order to be brought to completion, so I am extremely grateful to Alexandria and her classmates for making such a significant contribution to the project’s budget.”
