TWO Clare sporting heroes are challenging the entire nation to play their part in selling Ireland to foreign companies expanding into Europe.
Three-time hurling All Star and All-Ireland winning manager with Clare, Davy Fitzgerald, has teamed up with Ireland and Lions rugby legend Keith Wood in a new ConnectIreland campaign which launches shortly at Shannon Airport.
The duo are the latest high-profile ConnectIreland ambassadors to spur parishes, clubs and communities to link up with family, friends and contacts abroad to sell Ireland, boost job creation and create a future in Ireland for our brightest and best.
The sporting legends have also joined in the growing YouTube campaign, alongside Martin Sheen, Michael Flatley, Saoirse Ronan and others, to spur the 70 million Irish at home and abroad to get Ireland back to work.
Davy Fitzgerald said ConnectIreland is a brilliant initiative and urged the public to register, to play their part and create a future here for our smart, educated workforce. “We are going through tough times. We need to use what we have. We need to tap into the people around the world who are connected to Ireland, who have Irish
backgrounds.
“There are so many GAA clubs outside of Ireland. So many people in those clubs are GAA oriented. We need to tap into that. I know that Sunday after Sunday they watch our big games. They want our talent to stay at home, so they do.
Former Lions and Ireland hooker, Keith Wood urged the entire nation to put on the green jersey and work their connections for the good of the country. “You don’t have to know the top CEO in a company. You don’t have to be a top CEO yourself. Anybody can do this.
“I love the idea of ConnectIreland. It is an Irish way of doing things. We all know someone, have friends or family who have lived abroad or moved abroad and we have met people abroad. We are all well able to talk and recommend that they come over our way and set up jobs in Ireland. It is a really cool idea.
“We all travel. We all meet people all over the world. I did so in my rugby days and still bump into people all the time. Now we have a chance and an opportunity to say ‘Don’t just come over here for a holiday. Come over here and start a bit of business and there’s a lot of backing for you to do it’,” he said.
Rose Hynes, chairman, Shannon Airport said, “Foreign direct investment is vitally important to the economy of the Mid-West region and Shannon Airport is a major economic driver for the region. ConnectIreland is proving to be a welcome stimulus in attracting companies to Ireland and generating sustainable employment for our
young population.
To find out more about Connect Ireland, log on to www.connectireland.com.
A native of Ennis, Colin McGann has been editor of The Clare Champion since August 2020. Former editor of The Clare People, he is a journalism and communications graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology.