This article is from page 11 of the 2011-08-16 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 11 JPG
THE Clareman, who is Ireland’s Consul General in New York, can play his part in stimulating economic growth through job creation and tourism, a Civic Reception that was held in his honour in Kilrush was told on Friday night.
On what was his first official visit to his the west Clare capital since his appointment as Consul General for Ireland, the Kilrush-born Noel Kilkenny heard his achievements and many years service in Ireland’s diplomatic corps lauded by the local town council.
Surrounded by family and friends, the Mayors of Clare and Kilrush as well as agencies such as the West Clare Task Force, Shannon Development, the Mid West Regional Authority and members of Kilrush Town Council, Mr Kilkenny said it was “a very special occasion to be honoured in my native down as Consul General”.
Mr Kilkenny’s role in helping foster an economic upturn was highlighted by a number of speakers at the Civic Reception that took place in the Vandeleur Walled Garden in Kilrush.
These included current Mayor of Kilrush, Cllr Ian Lynch, his precedessor Cllr Liam Williams, who moved the motion that Mr Kilkenny be honoured with a Civic Reception and Clare County Manager, Tom Coughlan.
“I am confident that many opportunities will materialise into sustainable job growth,” said Mr Coughlan. “I want to thank the Consul General personally for affording so much of his time to the Clare delegation when we visited New York as part of the St Patrick’s Day Festival. “Our time there was spent meeting with business people and devel- opment agencies, in our continuing efforts to seek enterprise development for county Clare. Already I am heartened by the number of business enquiries. I am also very pleased to note that tourism figures for the first half of this year are up considerably on last year’s figures and this is very encouraging. “The key to Irish economic growth, particularly in the short term, will be foreign direct investment. US investment is, and will continue to be, a critical element of the Irish economy. It is imperative that the representatives of the Irish government abroad reinforce the message that Ireland is open for business,” the county manager added. “When the Clare delegation visited New York last St Patrick’s Day, the Consul General took a lead role in introducing the delegation to many business executives and hosted a number of meetings to ensure that business contacts would be maximised,” said Cllr Williams. “The Consul General was extremely generous with his time and ensured that every avenue for business development, job creation and tourism potential was explored. The Consul General has an insatiable appetite for all things Irish, as is evident from his current role in assisting Irish people and promoting Irish culture and the arts in the United States,” added Cllr Williams.