An explosion of Latvian culture in the heart of Dublin

The Irish Latvian community is one of the largest in Ireland – and that was evident, today, in Dublin’s Temple Bar, as Meeting House Square was transformed into ‘Little Latvia’, with a feast of dance, music, food and traditional costumes.

Declan Cassidy’s team were on hand to capture a slice of the joy for his BAI-funded multicultural TV seres “Home Thoughts From Abroad”.

“It’s began as a six part series that opened windows on the six most populous non-Irish national communities in the country,” Declan explained, “but since we started filming, the Ukrainian population has risen from just a few to tens of thousands – probably the third largest in the country, so we’ve extended it to eight episodes so that we can include them.

“Today, though, it was all about Latvia. The Latvian culture day celebrations have been going on in Ireland for 12 years but the pandemic put a temporary stop to them. Last year, with everything just starting to open up again, it was a modest affair. But this year was huge. A great turnout and, apart from a few showers, fabulous sunny weather. “

“Home Thoughts From Abroad” continues filming over summer and can be expected on TV before the end of the year.