Ireland’s the place to be in 2013

On his first visit to Canada, Ireland’s minister of transport, tourism and sport, Leo Varadkar made quite an impression. Not only did he officially launch The Gathering Ireland 2013 — a year-long celebration of … well … of all things Irish — it’s people, history, culture and heritage — he pretty much invited anyone who feels a connection with Ireland to come and join the party. In Toronto, Varadkar told his audience of tour operators and travel agents that the tough economic times have “forced us to reconsider our Irishness” and The Gathering is a way to reconnect to the 70 million people around the world who feel a connection to Ireland. Here in Canada, there are at least 4-million Canadians with some kind of link to Ireland. Tourism Ireland’s chief executive, Niall Gibbons agreed, observing that The Gathering is a celebration for everyone and that’s why it’s a great idea. He also pointed out that The Gathering is a community-led initiative, pointing to a host of Clan gatherings that will take place throughout Ireland in 2013, along with special events and festivities that will let the visitor get involved. Here in Canada, Tourism Ireland’s manager, Jayne Shackleford said that her office will be working with the travel trade on a variety of initiatives relating to the newly launched event; it will be rolling out a new, national digital marketing campaign in the next week; and it will be collaborating with Ancestry.ca in order to promote The Gathering Ireland 2013. To find out more, go to http://www.thegatheringireland.com or visit http://www.discoverirelandblog.ca . Seen in the photo, from l to r, are Tourism Ireland’s Canadian manager, Jayne Shackleford and Ireland’s minister of transport, tourism and sport, Leo Varadkar.