TAOISEACH ENDA KENNY has been meeting with the Mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg, this morning as part of his trip to the US to mark the St Patrick’s Day celebrations.
At a breakfast event in New York this morning Kenny presented the mayor with a teapot that was housed in the National Museum of Ireland in Co Mayo.
It is one of 100 objects contained in a special e-book “that is itself Ireland’s gift to America and the world to mark St Patrick’s Day” Kenny explained in a speech.
The Taoisech’s speech came ahead of his participation in the St Patrick’s Day parade as it marches up 5th Avenue in the Big Apple today.
“The Irish are found in every borough every corner of New York. In previous generations they came heartbroken hungry in search of new life new hope,” Kenny told his audience.
“Today they come in search of opportunity to work in finance, fashion, film.”
He paid tribute to the ‘New York Irish’ who helped out in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy which hit the region last October and said that the Irish government had committed $320,000 to help community projects in the areas worst affected by the storm.
In his speech Kenny also hailed Ireland’s “successful return to the bond markets” and the “third consecutive year of growth” in the Irish economy.
“International confidence in Ireland has been restored. During second-half 2012 the numbers at work in the economy rose over a six month period for the first time since 2008,” he told his audience.
He also invited Mayor Bloomberg to visit Ireland in the near future “to revisit some haunts and perhaps together we might create some new ones”.
Kenny also extended an invitation to the New York City Council speaker and mayoral candidate Christine Quinn , who is of Irish descent, to visit Ireland in the future.
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