Gardaí attend Buddhist temple in Laois
Garda O'Connell and Garda Quinlan at the Buddhist celebration in the Mingala Ramsi Monastery in Errill. Photo: An Garda Síochána Laois Offaly
GARDAÍ attended a Buddhist temple in Laois today, at the invitation of a local monastery.
Garda O’ Connell and Garda Quinlan were invited to the Mingala Ramsi Monastery in Errill, near Rathdowney, for the celebration of the Htamame festival.
A traditional Myanmar Buddhist celebration, the Htamane Festival is held annually around the Full Moon Day of Tabodwe, typically in early February, to mark the end of the harvest season.
Communities gather to make htamane, a savoury, nutrient-rich sticky rice snack mixed with coconuts, peanuts, ginger and sesame, offering the first portion to Buddha and sharing the rest with neighbours.
Posting a photo on the An Garda Síochána Laois Offaly social media page today, with the hashtags community engagement, diversity and inclusion, gardaí said: ‘This is a significant Buddhist religious and community event and we were delighted to be invited to attend and meet everyone.’
There are more than 9,000 Buddhists in Ireland according to the last census, with many centres around the country.
