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UPCOMING EVENTS
Thursday, June 13, 2013
New York
Scholarships Awards Lunch
2013 Scholarships Awards Lunch in New York
Online Booking
Now Available!
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Friday, June 28, 2013
Dublin
Midsummer Gala Dinner
2013  Midsummer Gala Dinner  in Dublin
Online Booking
Now Available!
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Council Event Calendar
 Council Event Calendar
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2013 Events Calendar
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2012 Annual Report
The Council's 2012 Annual Report is now available online for download.
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US firms paid an average tax rate of 8% profits in Ireland

RTE News
U.S. corporations paid an average tax rate of 8% on their company profits in Ireland based on an analysis of tax returns examined by the U.S. Congressional Budget Office.

Read the news report on the RTE News website

Council Hosts 2013 Spring Corporate Lunch in Dublin
Council Hosts 2013 Spring Corporate Lunch in Dublin
Seen at the Ireland-U.S. Council’s 2013 Spring Corporate Lunch held in Dublin at The Four Seasons Hotel on Friday, April 12 were (from left) Council Board member Alan T. Ennis, President and Chief Executive Officer of Revlon, Inc.; Alan Shatter, Minister for Justice, Equality & Law Reform and Minister for Defence; Senator Catherine Noone of Seanad Éireann; and the Council’s Dublin-based Executive Director, Roddy Feely.

The Ireland-U.S. Council Spring Corporate Lunch 2013
Guest Speaker Alan T. Ennis - President & CEO, Revlon Inc.


In Memoriam
Michael J. Roarty
Former Marketing Chief at Anheuser-Busch
and Past-President of the Ireland-U.S. Council

Monday, March 18, 2013: It is with the greatest regret and deepest sadness that we have learned of the death of Michael J. Roarty, beloved former President of the Ireland-U.S. Council. He died Saturday March 16, 2013 in St. Louis, MO and was 84. He served as a distinguished leader of the organization for nine years from 1993 through the end of 2002 when he was Executive Vice President Marketing at Anheuser-Busch Companies. He succeeded Daniel P. Tully, Chairman & CEO of Merrill Lynch & Co., who had served as Council President for the previous four years.

Mr. Roarty was an extremely-popular and well-known personality in international business circles and helped build Anheuser-Busch brands into international powerhouses. He was renowned as a public speaker for his wit, insight and command of language. The son of immigrants from Mayo and Donegal, he was born in Detroit, MI, in 1929. He was inducted into America’s prestigious Advertising Hall of Fame and served on the Taoiseach's Economic Advisory Board in the United States.

Michael J. Roarty
Flashback 1999 Student Scholarships Program
Memory Lane: Then-Council President Michael J. Roarty pictured with the
1999 Council Scholars at the Awards Lunch which was held at The 21 Club in New York.

Dennis D. Swanson, President of Fox Television Stations Group and current President of the Ireland-U.S. Council, said “We have lost a true friend with the death of Mike Roarty. He was a leading supporter of economic partnership between the United States and Ireland. He spearheaded the St. Louis company's involvement in business ventures in Ireland - including the development of a licensed brewing agreement with Guinness, resulting in the brewing and distribution of Budweiser in Ireland. He also helped to maintain Ireland's world ranking in thoroughbred horse-racing by directing Anheuser-Busch's sponsorship of the Budweiser Irish Derby, making it among the most important of the classic horse races in the world.”

In his career at Anheuser-Busch, Mr. Roarty managed what many people believe was one of the most colorful, creative and effective marketing programs in world industry. During his tenure, Mr. Roarty helped Anheuser-Busch, America's largest brewer, in more than doubling annual sales volume of beer products, taking annual output from 35 million barrels in the 1980's to over 80 million barrels in the 1990's. During his tenure, the company's market share soared by more than 20 share points.

During his tenure as President of the Ireland-U.S Council, membership support in the organization sustained strong growth, a viable and active Ireland Chapter was established and the Council’s range of program initiatives was significantly expanded under his enthusiastic guidance. Mike Roarty is survived by Lee, his wife of more than 58 years; a son, Sean Roarty, of St. Louis; a daughter, Mary Santiviago, of Washington, DC; and four grandchildren.

The Ireland-U.S. Council is the premier transatlantic business organization that encourages and promotes business between Ireland and the United States. It was established in the Fall of 1962 by American and Irish business leaders in preparation for the visit of President John F. Kennedy to Ireland in the Spring of 1963, as a measure to build institutional form around a structure to improve business, economic and commercial relations between the two countries. The organization assists in the exchange of information, views and opinions between the two countries. Through its various membership activities, the Council provides a platform to meet and communicate for representatives from business, Government and other key policy makers from both sides of the Atlantic.


Council Marks 2013 St. Patrick’s Festivities with New York Lunch Event
Council Marks 2013 St. Patrick’s Festivities with New York Lunch Event
Quinnipiac University President and Council Member John Lahey (left) delivered the keynote address at the Council’s St. Patrick’s Lunch in New York. He spoke on Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum, recently inaugurated at Quinnipiac’s campus in Hamden, CT., which represents an important contribution to education, scholarship and research on this seminal event in Irish history. Ireland’s Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Pat Rabbitte TD also addressed the lunch with Greetings from Ireland. Our two speakers were photographed at the event with Council President Dennis Swanson.


Speeches and ceremonies from the St. Patrick's Lunch




Positive Economic Outlook in Ireland Forecast At Council's
2013 Winter Meeting in Palm Beach, Florida
 Positive Economic Outlook in Ireland Forecast At Council 2013 Winter Meeting in Palm Beach, Florida
Bank of Ireland Investor and Wall Street Titan, Wilbur Ross, Chairman & CEO of W.L. Ross & Co. which is a leading investor in a group that purchased a 35% stake in Bank of Ireland Group for $1.5 billion, was a guest speaker at the Council’s 2013 Winter Meeting held mid-February in Palm Beach, Florida. In his remarks at a Council lunch there, he predicted a positive economic outlook for Ireland. Also seen at the meeting were Council President-Emeritus Michael J. Gibbons; Paul Gleeson, Ireland’s Consul General who also spoke at the meeting; Wilbur Ross; and Council President Dennis J. Swanson.

Ireland's Economy & Banking Crisis, An Update One Year Later With Wilbur Ross Part 1


Ireland's Economy & Banking Crisis, An Update One Year Later With Wilbur Ross Part 2


Wilbur Ross bullish on Irish economy

Read an article in the Palm Beach Daily News about Wilbur Ross's speech to the Council during the Winter Meeting. Read article.
View as PDF

Council's 2012 Award for Outstanding Achievement
Councils 2012 Award for Outstanding Achievement
The Council's 2012 Award for Outstanding Achievement was presented at the Council's 50th Annual Dinner in New York to Dr. T. Pearse Lyons, Founder and President of Alltech, Inc. by Council President Dennis D. Swanson with Noel Kilkenny, Ireland's Consul-General in New York.

Watch Dr. Lyons' speech at the Council Dinner.

The Ireland-U.S. Council's YouTube channel has all video from our most recent events.
www.youtube.com/irelanduscouncil
Musical entertainment from the Ireland-U.S. Council Midsummer Gala Dinner in Ireland held on Friday, June 29, 2012 at Dublin Castle.

Dr. T. Pearse Lyons profiled in The Irish Times
Dr. T. Pearse Lyons, Founder and President of Alltech, Inc., and the recipient of this year's Ireland-U.S. Council Award for Outstanding Achievement was recently profiled in The Irish Times. The award will be the centerpiece of the Council’s 50th Annual Dinner to be held at the Metropolitan Club in New York City on Thursday, November 8, 2012.
Dr. Pearse Lyons The Lyons share just keeps on growing

PEARSE LYONS starts his day at 3.50am in Lexington, Kentucky, and one of the first things he does is put in a call to the European headquarters of his company, Alltech, in Dunboyne, Co Meath.

His assistant there, Mary, is ready to brief him on emails that came in overnight. It’s almost 9am in Ireland, which gives Lyons a five-hour head start back in Kentucky.

Read full article in the Irish Times

The Gathering Ireland 2013 – Council Lunch in New York
The Gathering Ireland 2013 Lunch in New York on September 26th 2012
The Council hosted a lunch September 26 in New York at The Metropolitan Club to celebrate The Gathering Ireland 2013, an innovative tourism initiative. Seen at the event were Chief Executive of Tourism Ireland Niall Gibbons with Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport Leo Varadkar TD, Mark Mortell and Tourism Ireland’s Executive Vice President in the United States, Joe Byrne.

Award for Outstanding Portraiture Presentation
Council’s MidSummer Gala Dinner at Dublin Castle on Friday, June 29
Council’s MidSummer Gala Dinner at Dublin Castle on Friday, June 29
At the Council’s MidSummer Gala Dinner at Dublin Castle on Friday, June 29, an artist from Northern Ireland, Ian Cumberland, was presented with the Award for Outstanding Portraiture which is sponsored in conjunction with the Royal Hibernian Academy and The Irish Arts Review. It is presented in Ireland to an artist whose work is judged to be of outstanding merit. The Award is an important part of the Council’s program to support the arts and arts education in Ireland. Seen at the presentation were (from left) Michael Somers, President of the Council's Chapter in Ireland, Dennis Swanson, Council President, Ian Cumberland and Brendan Howlin TD, Minister for Public Expenditure & Reform.

Council Awards Lunch June 14 in New York
2012 Student Work Experience Scholarships Presentation
2012 Student Work Experience Scholarships Council Awards Lunch June 14 in New York
Seen at the event with two of this year’s student scholars were (from left) Dennis Swanson, President of the Ireland-U.S. Council; Ciaran Breen who hails from Lurgan, County Armagh and is studying for a Bachelor of Science degree in Actuarial Science and Risk Management in Queen’s University Belfast. He will work at Prudential Financial in Jersey City; Siobhan Murphy, a native of Abbeyfeale, County Limerick, is studying for a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry (Biological and Chemical Sciences) at University College Cork. She will work with Pfizer, Inc. in New York City; and Noel Kilkenny, Ireland’s Consul-General in New York.

Energy a Hot Topic at Council Spring Corporate Lunch held in Dublin
Featuring Powerful Double-bill Guest Speaker Program
Energy a Hot Topic at Council Spring Corporate Lunch held in Dublin May 4th
Ireland’s Minister for Communications, Energy & Natural Resources, Pat Rabbitte, TD was a Guest Speaker along with U.S. businessman and Council Board Member Gerald C. Crotty, President of Weichert Enterprise, LLC, a private equity investment firm and Chairman and CEO of Mayo Renewable Power, sponsor of a proposed €150 million ($200 million) new, state-of-the-art bio-mass electricity generating station in Mayo. Seen at the event held in Dublin's Four Seasons Hotel, were from left P.J. Rudden of event sponsor RPS Group; Bob Schumacher of United Airlines who also sponsored the occasion, Minister Pat Rabbitte; Gerald C. Crotty and President of the Council's Ireland Chapter, Dr. Michael Somers.


Council’s 2012 St Patrick’s Lunch Honors Ireland’s Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton TD and Parade Grand Marshal Frank Comerford
Ms. Joan Burton, TD at The Ireland US Council 2012 St. Patrick’s Lunch
The Council’s 2012 St. Patrick’s Lunch was a sold-out affair and was held at the Metropolitan Club in New York City on March 16. The Guest Speaker was Ireland’s Minister for Social Protection, Ms. Joan Burton, TD. Also speaking at the event was the Grand Marshal of the 2012 New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Frank Comerford, Chief Revenue Officer of NBC Television Stations.

Seen at the event (above) were Council President Dennis Swanson and Minister Burton while below Frank Comerford is presented with the traditional crystal apple by President Swanson and Council President-Emeritus Mike Gibbons.
Frank Comerford is presented with the traditional crystal apple by President Swanson and Council President-Emeritus Mike Gibbons

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The Ireland-U.S Council Welcome to the website of the Ireland-U.S. Council. Our mission is to build business links between America and Ireland. This site contains detailed information on the organization's programs and activities in both the United States and in the Emerald Isle.

We value your interest in the mission of the Council and always welcome new members. We hope that you find the answers here to any questions you may have about us. If not, please contact us and we will be happy to tell you more.

Keep up-to-date with the latest Council news and events. Sign up to our mailing list today

Now Available online  Reports and Photos from the Council's 2008 events



Ireland and America:
Challenges and Opportunities in a New Context
The Embassy of Ireland in Washington D.C., has published a Strategic Review of Relations between Ireland and the United States (Ireland and America: Challenges and Opportunities in a New Context). Our Council made a considered submission on the matter as part of the review process that was conducted by Ireland's Ambassador to the U.S., Michael Collins and Ambassador/Consul General in New York, Niall Burgess.

The document makes for interesting reading and contains important recommendations which, if implemented, will enhance the relationships between America and Ireland.

You can access the full report here through the link below:
Ireland and America: Challenges and Opportunities in a New Context  (PDF format, 339Kb)


Dennis Swanson - Ireland US Council President
Dennis D. Swanson
Council President

President's Message

It was back in 1962 that, in preparation for the visit of President John F. Kennedy to Ireland the following year, two organizations were created as a measure to build institutional form around a structure to improve the relations between America and Ireland.

One was dedicated to cultural relations - the American Irish Foundation, which has since merged into the American Ireland Fund. Your Council was the other and was aimed at building business bonds between America and Ireland.

We cherish the shared commitments that connect us to our Council mission. During the past year, the Council has enjoyed outstanding support from members and from many benefactors, patrons and sponsors. On behalf of the Council's Board and the entire membership of the organization throughout the United States and in all parts of Ireland, we offer thanks for the support we continue to receive.

Dennis D. Swanson - Council President
Dennis Swanson
Ireland-U.S. Council President


The Ireland-U.S. Council Welcomes Decisions To Expand Work Visa Programs Between Ireland and the United States

The Ireland-U.S. Council welcomes the decisions of both the Irish Government and the United States Administration to implement a substantial liberalization of visa rules allowing for U.S. citizens to work in Ireland and for Irish citizens to work in the United States for up to a year.
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COUNCIL SPONSORS
Aer Lingus - Enjoy your flight
www.AerLingus.com


United Airlines
www.United.com


CIE Tours - Vacations to Ireland and Britain
www.CIETours.com


Lee Valley Ireland - Manufacturer and suppliers of quality Irish country clothing
www.LeeValleyIreland.com