Tag Archives: US

AER Lingus relayed some good news for Shannon this week at an Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport hearing where it was also taken to task for opening a base in Manchester. The good news for Shannon Airport came with the airline saying it will significantly increase its transatlantic capacity there next summer. While it still has not as yet decided to resume the summer leisure routes that it had pre pandemic, the airline’s Chief Strategy & Planning Officer Reid Moody told the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport that there will be stronger US-Shannon links. “There’ll be exactly the same frequency on Boston, but more capacity because there are more seats on the new aircraft.” He said that there had been four weekly New York services pre pandemic, but it will be daily next year, while Aer Lingus will also maintain its three daily Heathrow services. Mr Moody was very positive about the performance of Shannon. “Shannon as a whole is …

“CHRISTMAS is definitely my favourite time of year to come home; there’s a different atmosphere, it’s really family-oriented,” said Aileen Griffin on Wednesday afternoon, just after arriving in Shannon Airport. The Kilmaley woman was one of the thousands of emigrants returning to Ireland this week, mainly from the UK, the US and Australia. Aileen was greeted by her father, Joe, in Shannon. “He’s very diligent. He always does the airport pick-ups and he carries the luggage as well,” she joked. Peggy Hennessy had come in from Kilkee to pick up her son, Patrick, who is based in New York, where he works for an airline and is part-owner of a bar. Unlike many Irish people in America, he has legal status there. Peggy was very pleased to see him. “Of course, it’s brilliant to get him home. He shouldn’t have had to go in the first place, they shouldn’t have to emigrate in the first place. So many youngsters are …

COUNTY Clare’s artistic and cultural creativity has been highlighted on IrishCentral.com, a US-based website with more than 3.5 million visitors per month and a social media following in excess of 750,000. The website, the leading news source for the Irish diaspora around the world, is partnering with Creative Ireland, the Government’s five-year initiative, to place creativity at the centre of public policy. As part of this programme, IrishCentral featured the 2017 Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann. It also looked at Sparks Youth Film Festival, which offers animation and film workshops from October to November to encourage creative expression in young people aged six to 18 years, as well as the Inisowiacy-Polish Folk Dance Group, who will be organising workshops in Ennis in September, showcasing the culture and traditions of folk dancing in Poland. Commenting on the partnership from New York, Mike Rich, IrishCentral CEO, said, “IrishCentral.com is the leading Irish website in the US, with a loyal readership base in New York, …

THIS week it was revealed that US Vice President Joe Biden will visit Ireland in the coming weeks and there are hopes that he flies through Shannon. Mr Biden has stopped over at Shannon in the past and on his Irish trip he is expected to visit Dublin, Mayo and Louth. Passing through Shannon Airport on December 8 of last year, a mass was arranged for him at the airport for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Just before St Patrick’s Day, Vice President Biden hosted a select breakfast gathering at his residence, which was attended by Shannon Group chairman Rose Hynes. On the day, Mr Biden said that one of the “great, great advantages” of the travel he has had to undertake has been the stops he has made at Shannon. Numerous US Presidents have arrived or left Ireland while in office, including George W Bush, John F Kennedy and Ronald Regan. By Owen Ryan

A media group from Germany, Spain and the US are in the Burren this week to experience and sample one of Ireland’s best tourism and gastronomy destinations. Included in the visiting group is Frances Folsom who writes for the Boston Globe and Dallas Morning News, which have a combined circulation of over two million. The trip, organised by Fáilte Ireland, in conjunction with Tourism Ireland, will allow the journalists to enjoy the vast selection of seasonal and local produce on the County Clare leg of the Wild Atlantic Way. Welcoming the group to Ireland, John Mulcahy, Fáilte Ireland’s head of Food Tourism, said, “We welcome the opportunity to showcase our island, and indeed The Burren, with its range of food trails, festivals, farmer’s markets. “With the emergence of a distinctive Irish cuisine, our intention is clear; Ireland aims to become one of the world’s hottest new culinary destination and we want to highlight this to our visiting media where they …

THE biggest employer in Doonbeg is set to become the Republican Party candidate to contest the US presidential election. On Tuesday, Donald Trump was all but confirmed as the Republican presidential nominee after his win in the Indiana primary, which led directly to main rival Ted Cruz dropping out of the race. Although Doonbeg is a small village in West Clare and will have no direct say in whether Trump or the likely Democratic Party nominee Hilary Clinton becomes the 45th President of the United Status, if a snap primary was held in the Long Village, voters would probably vote local, despite the odd reservation or two. Trump has threatened to build a really long wall between Mexico and the US border to help put people from Mexico off the idea of entering the Land of the Free. He is also insisting that the Mexican state pay for the wall at a cost of between $5 and $10 billion. The …

The CEO of Norwegian Airlines, Bjørn Kjos met Ireland South MEP and member of the EU Transport Committee, Deirdre Clune in Brussels on Wednesday to discuss transatlantic flights from Cork and Shannon to the US. Kjos, a Norwegian aviator, lawyer, and business magnate is best known as the founder and CEO of Norwegian Air. He agreed to meet MEP Clune in the European Parliament, as the approval process for Norwegians transatlantic license continues. Ms Clune described it as a constructive meeting. “I invited Mr Kjos to the European Parliament to discuss Norwegians flights from Shannon and Cork. He has told me that the process of granting a licence will take time and that there is a procedure to be followed. Ultimately, he wants to begin flying from Cork to the US from August 1 and has also reaffirmed his committemnt to flying from Shannon to the US, but did not give me a specific date on those flights. “The US …

Tales of growing up in a Killaloe household filled with music were told when Deputy Pat Breen met a local master Irish traditional musician at the National Fellowship Award Ceremony in the United States of America. During his recent visit to Washington, chairman of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Breen was invited to attend the National Fellowship Award Ceremony at the Irish Embassy, where he met up with Killaloe-born Séamus Connolly, the 2013 recipient of the award. The NEA National Heritage Fellowships in the United States are awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts, which were established by Congress in 1965 and recognise artistic excellence and support their continuing contributions to America’s traditional arts heritage. Since the NEA was founded, they have awarded more than $4 billion to support artistic excellence, creativity and innovation for the benefit of individuals and communities in the US. Deputy Breen was pleased to meet Seamus Connolly and the …