'It was very emotional': Cree poet Sky Dancer visits East Cork Choctaw monument

National poet of Canada 'deeply moved' by her visit to the Kindred Spirits monument in Midleton, which was erected as a tribute to the generosity of the Choctaw people during Ireland's famine

Joseph Naytowhow, Cree knowledge keeper, speaking at a short ceremony at the Kindred Spirits Monument in Midleton, Cork, with James Kelly, chief executive of the Ireland Canada University Foundation; Canadian ambassador Nancy Smyth; Cllr Susan McCarthy; David Stanton TD; Mary Stanton; and poet laureate of the Canadian Parliament Louise B Halfe of the Cree Nation. Picture: Dan Linehan

The national poet of Canada, a leading figure in the Cree nation, led a special ceremony at the landmark Choctaw monument in East Cork to mark the start of an official visit to Ireland.

Renowned writer Louise Bernice Halfe, who is also known by her Cree name Sky Dancer, said she was deeply moved by her visit to the striking Kindred Spirits monument in Midleton, which was erected as a tribute to the generosity of the Choctaw people during Ireland's famine.