Open for Business

Taken at San Francisco City Hall are Sean O’Sullivan, Chairman of the Board, Recreate Shandon; Conor Healy, CEO Cork Chamber; Paul Moynihan, Director of Corporate Affairs & International Relations, Cork City Council; Cllr Colm Kelleher, Lord Mayor of Cork; Ann Doherty, CE, Cork City Council; Cllr. Mary Rose Desmond; Alma Murnane, Senior Executive Officer, Corporate Affairs & International Relations, Cork City Council and Cllr. Derry Canty.

After two long years of no in-person connectivity CEO Conor Healy represented Cork Chamber and its members in the USA over the St. Patrick’s Day period.

The first half of the visit was part of a Cork City delegation led by Lord Mayor Cllr. Colm Kelleher in Cork’s sister city of San Francisco. The delegation held meetings with the IDA, the Consulate General of Ireland, the Bay Area Economic Council and the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce. There were other familiar faces too with Cork Chamber members Altada Technology Solutions and Wisetek representing Cork through their permanent presence in the region. The Cork delegation were honored to meet with San Francisco’s Mayor London Breed and march under the Cork banner in the San Francisco’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade. The representation also met with their Sister City Committee and discussed how to strengthen the economic, tourism and cultural ties between the cities that stretch back almost 40 years.

There was a real Team Ireland feel to the productive few days in Washington DC. The highlight event was the Ireland Funds 30th Anniversary Gala which was addressed by President Joe Biden. The President paid tribute to the links between Ireland and the US and expressed his pride in his Irish identity and heritage. It was at this event that An Taoiseach Micheál Martin unfortunately had to leave ahead of receiving his Leadership Award. Ambassador Dan Mulhall addressed the audience, on behalf of An Taoiseach, stating the importance of the longestablished cultural and economic links between the US and Ireland.

The time spent in the US was a great opportunity to re focus on our Connecting Cork programme which we intend to push out further in the year ahead and also working in partnership with other stakeholders in the region to further establish the We Are Cork brand. The visit also highlighted the great work being undertaken by state bodies such as by IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and Tourism Ireland in promoting investment in Ireland, supporting Irish companies in the US and showcasing all Ireland has to offer as a premier travel destination. Cork and Ireland are fortunate to have such an outstanding representation in the US who are excelling in the reopened economy by availing of the opportunity to get back out meeting people and doing what they do best – promoting Ireland and Irish business.