More than 120 dancers, drummers, jugglers and performers took part in a parade in Clara, Co Offaly, yesterday to mark International Day Against Racism.
Street theatre company ArdánGheasa and Offaly County Council organised the parade, in which voluntary and community groups which promote interculturalism from Castlebar, Kilkenny, Galway, Dublin, Tullamore and Clara took part.
Ms Rita Kelly, arts officer with Offaly County Council, said the location - the centre of Ireland - was especially relevant as "racism and interculturalism are live issues in rural towns and communities".
Ms Lorraine Hughes, artistic director of ArdánGheasa, said interculturalism was often not addressed in rural areas and "we wanted to mark the day in an unconventional location, not in somewhere obvious like Dublin, Cork or Galway". She and ArdánGheasa's other artistic director, Ms Lucy Bell, wanted to "make a small gesture because the day tends to go unnoticed".