The Mayor of Kildare County Council, Martin Miley received an invitation from the President of the County Kildare Association of New York, Mr. John Duggan, to participate with them in the St. Patrick's Parade in New York on March 17th, 2018. The Mayor was accompanied by Niall Morrissey Director of Services Kildare County Council, who represented the Chief Executive of Kildare County Council.
March 15th 2018
The Mayor and Director of Services were guests of the Treasurer of the County Kildare Association of New York, Mr. Chris Burke. This occasion provided an opportunity for the Kildare Association to outline recent activities and events held, in addition to advising the Mayor in regard to the Association's future plans. The Treasurer also explained the type of supports offered by the Association in New York, including assistance for residents from Kildare travelling to find employment opportunities in New York. The members of the Association are also available to provide guidance to any Kildare Businesses seeking to expand their operations in the USA in addition to encouraging American based businesses to invest in Kildare.
Their mission statement states:
"The Kildare Association of New York is dedicated to encouraging socialization and support for Irish immigrants originating from County Kildare, Ireland. We enhance the communities in New York area by facilitating Irish-American cultural, social, and professional networking events. From monthly events to annual gala, we are dedicated to creating opportunities fro our members and other Irish Americans to bond through their shared Kildare heritage."
March 16th 2018
While in New York the Mayor and Director of Services took the opportunity to meet with the representatives of Tourism Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and the IDA with the objectives of :
Ensuring that Kildare County Council is appropriately focused on making the County an attractive proposition in which to locate investment opportunities,
Ensuring that Kildare is an attractive location for American Tourists, and
Ensuring that Tourism Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and the IDA are firmly focused on promoting County Kildare and in assisting Kildare Businesses to expand their operations into new markets in the USA.
Tourism Ireland
The Mayor and the Director of Services met with Ms. Orla Carey Advertising & Digital Marketing Manger and Mr. Paul McDonagh Trade & Industry Engagement with Tourism Ireland. They took the opportunity to outline the attractiveness of Kildare for the tourist, the number of interesting sites and locations we have to offer, in addition to how well the County is served to accommodation and fine dining experiences. They pointed out the tremendous work being carried out throughout the County to provide experiences for the "active" visitor, particularly in regard to walks and trails such as the Greenway in North Kildare and the Burrow Blueway in South West Kildare. The potential of the Curragh Plains also featured prominently in their discussions.
St. Patrick's Day traditionally marks the real start of the tourism season for Tourism Ireland; their aim is to bring a smile to the faces of the people everywhere and to convey the message that Ireland offers the warmest of welcomes and great fun, as well as wonderful scenery and heritage.
Enterprise Ireland
The Mayor and the Director of Services met with Mr. Adian Hayes Senior Business Leader focused on Partnering, Innovation and Fin Tech with Enterprise Ireland. They took the opportunity to outline the strong professional role being played by the Kildare Local Enterprise Office, (LEO), in assisting new start up businesses as well as supporting existing businesses to expand both domestically and internationally. They particularly underlined the strength of having the Local Enterprise Office closely aligned with Kildare County Council providing the opportunity for a streamlined approach to supporting the business sector in Kildare. Mr. Hayes outlined the type of supports that Enterprise Ireland provide throughout the USA and detailed how these supports are organized both geographically across the different business sectors. These supports are categorized in terms of coaching, guidance, and financial.
Mr. Hayes was keen to emphasize that enterprises seeking to locate outside of Ireland should start their discussions with the Local Enterprise Office, followed by Enterprise Ireland representatives within Ireland to ensure that they maximize the generous financial grants available before attempting to make links with markets in other countries.
IDA Ireland
The Mayor and the Director of Services met with the following representatives from IDA Ireland: Patrick McGee Vice President Engineering Industrial and Clean Tech, Aidan Houlihan Vice President International Financial Services and Gemma Allen Vice President Consumer and Technology. They briefed the IDA representatives about the current state of the economy in Kildare and how Kildare County Council is constantly positioning the County as an ideal location for investment in employment generating activities. They emphasized Kildare's proximity to the Airports, Ports and rail lines and the advantage of the extensive Motorway Network which traverses the country both East-West and North-South. Included in this brief was a progress report regarding the Naas Newbridge Bybass Upgrade, the Osberstown interchange and the Sallins Bypass which are all under construction. In addition to an update about the Athy Distributor Route, the completion of the Naas inner Relief Road and the first section of the Maynooth Outer Orbital Route. They took the opportunity to stress how well the County is served in terms of water and waste water infrastructure capacity, while all the time stressing how ready the entire County is to accommodate new investment opportunities.
Their briefing particularly focused on the advantage of having a highly educated, young, vibrant, energetic population in County Kildare, with the presence of the National University of Ireland Maynooth being an advantage. The overall discussion focused on the proximity to transport links, availability of skilled workforce, quality of life issues and the importance of a strong supply of affordable accommodation.
Consulate General of Ireland New York
The Mayor and the Director of Services attended a gathering hosted by An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar in the offices of the Consulate General of Ireland in New York.
At this gathering An Taoiseach welcomed a large number of Irish Mayors to New York as guests of their relevant Association to the City. He emphasized the importance of, and encouraged the strengthening of, relationships with the Irish Diaspora in New York and across America. Taoiseach Varadkar underlined the importance of these connections in terms of their potential impact on the Irish Economy, particularly the potential for increasing investment in Ireland and increasing the number of visitors to our County.
This is an important event which takes place each year in New York during the St. Patricks Day celebrations. It provides an excellent networking opportunity for representatives from each County in Ireland and a number Semi-State and State organizations based in New York.
March 17th 2018
Leading the Kildare Association down 5th Avenue formed the centerpiece of Mayor Miely's visit to New York. The New York City St. Patrick's Parade is the oldest and largest St. Patrick's Parade in the world . The first parade was held on March 17, 1762, fourteen years before the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Over 150,000 people march in New York Parade which is viewed by more that 2 million spectators.
March18th 2018
The Mayor and Mr. Morrissey were guests of the Kildare Association of New York at their St. Patrick's Dinner on March 18th, which took place in the Heritage Bar and Restaurant, 960 McLean Ave.,Yonkers NY 10704. The Mayor provided the large audience with a detailed update on how Kildare is performing in terms of Economic, Sporting and Cultural Development. He made a number of presentation to the Officers of the Kildare Association recognizing the importance of the work they are carrying out of behalf of the people of Kildare. The Mayor also read out the Oath of Acceptance on the occasion of the approval of new officers to the Kildare Association.
