Cavan ceo and chair off to states for paddys day
- Paul Neilan -
The chair and acting CEO of Cavan County Council will embark on a five-day whistle-stop tour of the east coast, beginning in New York as part of the St Patrick’s Day celebrations in the US.
Cathaoirleach Shane P O’Reilly (FF) and acting chief executive Ger Finn will take in New York and Rochester, among other locations, at various functions designed to strengthen ties, attract tourism and promote the county as a place to employ and set up business.
The two will meet with the Cavan associations in New York before going to Rochester in up-state New York, a seven-hour train journey, to meet with the Colonel O’Rourke Historical Group, where Mr Finn will give a presentation on the ties between the county. O’Rourke was born in Cornafean - and the Gettysburg hero before returning to the capital for meetings with various community and business leaders with ties to the county.
“There is a tourism side to it,” says Mr Finn, “but it’s also to make links regarding investments in Cavan and making new contacts, regarding Connect Ireland and similar initiatives.
“In tourism terms, the international trips could not be termed a 'roaring’ success but the Connect Ireland initiative, where people get a firm into the country to set up here and receive a finders’ fee, is the main idea around employment, so we’ll meet some ex-pats, prominent business people with ties to the county. The Fleadh gave us huge airtime but we have to try every thing we can now,” he said.
Cllr O’Reilly, in addition to Rochester and New York, visits Clinton, New Jersey - founded by the Mulligan family from Belturbet - and will meet with the historical society there.
“These trips in general might not mean too much to the people at home but they mean an awful lot to the people over there,” he said.
“Rochester actually holds an interesting thing for me - it’s twinned with Wurzburg in Germany and that was where St Kilian, born in my hometown of Mullagh, was martyred in 689. So it’s unofficially it’s twinned with Mullagh, now there’s a huge connection there in terms of the arts scene and the theatre.
“Regarding Rochester, I want to do is get the Rochester State University’s Irish course - around 100 students come to Ireland every year - because of the link with Colonel O’Rourke that we get extra nights for them in Cavan - it’s never been done but we need to foster that link,” he said.
“The main speech I’ll have at the Cavan Society banquet in New York is on employment, though. That’ll be to some of the largest business people in the city and some of them have very strong ties to Cavan, the basis will be around Connect Ireland and we have to look at that as doing it for ourselves because the IDA has been abysmal, so we have to make those connections ourselves, to bring a few jobs to Cavan. If we can do that and foster some connections it’ll be a job well done.”
Humphreys London bound
Elsewhere, Arts Minister Heather Humphreys, will be heading to London as part of the ministerial team’s visits abroad, which sees 15 of the 16 travel - leaving only Finance Minister Michael Noonan to mind the fort. In all 27 ministers will visit 27 countries on St Patrick’s Day.
In London, Minister Humphreys will join Clones boxer Barry McGuigan at London St Patrick’s Day Parade. She will visit the UK capital for a four-day trade mission as part of the Government’s 'Promote Ireland’ programme. Mr Guigan is the Grand Marshall of this year’s London parade.
During her trip Minister Humphreys will meet with representatives of Irish companies exporting to Britain and key Irish business professionals working in the UK at a series of events organised by Enterprise Ireland. She will receive an update from Tourism Ireland, IDA Ireland and Bord Bia on their activities in the UK market.