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Cathaoirleach of Kerry County Council, Pat McCarthy.
THE Cathaoirleach of Kerry County Council, Cllr Pat McCarthy will travel to the United States next week for a number of events to coincide with St Patrick’s Day.
Cllr Pat McCarthy will visit Philadelphia, Washington DC and New York. He will be accompanied by Tourism Officer with Kerry County Council, John Griffin.
Cllr McCarthy will meet with a number of senior political and community leaders and will partake in two St Patrick’s Day parades, one in Philadelphia and one in New York.
In Philadelphia he will attend a Destination Kerry tourism promotion with Pennsylvania Travel Trade jointly hosted with Tourism Ireland, American Airlines and Shannon Airport in advance of direct flights from Philadelphia to Shannon commencing in May.
He will also meet with the Mayor of Philadelphia and the Undersecretary of the US Department of Commerce as well as Tourism Ireland representatives in the US.
Speaking ahead of his departure, the Cathaoirleach said the visit presents a great opportunity to promote Kerry and discuss issues of concern to Kerry with senior figures.
“St Patrick’s Day presents a wonderful opportunity every year for the world to celebrate Ireland and Irishness. As chair of Kerry County Council I am looking forward to representing the county at a number of events in the US, which is, of course, home to so many Irish citizens and people from Kerry.
Cllr McCarthy said he will be discussing tourism with those involved in the sector at a number of events and looks forward to supporting the showcasing of the Irish and Kerry tourism markets.
“I also looking forward in particular to meetings with the Mayor of Philadelphia, the Undersecretary of the Department of Commerce in connection with the Valentia Cable UNESCO project, senior staff with Tourism Ireland, the Consul General of Ireland and the Kerry diaspora,” he said.
