The Gathering is a tourism initiative calling itself “the perfect excuse to reach out to those who have moved away, their relatives, friends and descendants, and invite them home”.

Gabriel Byrne, who was Irish ambassador for culture in the US, came under fire recently when he called it “a scam” because he feels people who left Ireland have been abandoned by the Government. Thecity.ie asked Dubliners and visitors to Dublin what they felt about The Gathering.