RECALLING HER VISIT to Ireland last year, Taoiseach Enda Kenny has described Queen Elizabeth II as “awesome”.
Kenny also extended the compliment to US President Barack Obama during a speech in Washington DC yesterday. He said that both heads of state had been “inspiring”.
Speaking at a gala dinner for the American Ireland Fund, Kenny focused on the positives of his year in Government, including the visits by Obama and the Queen in May 2011.
“Last May, Ireland was visited by two awesome people,” he said. “President Barack Obama and Queen Elizabeth II.”
He again stressed the potential of Ireland as a place for investment by US businesses, saying:
For centuries America was the land of opportunities for the Irish. Now Ireland is becoming the new land of opportunity for American business.
Kenny said Ireland was a “gateway” to European markets with a young and educated workforce, “attractive” corporation tax and good infrastructure.
It’s been a year of steady progress for Ireland. The government has made a solid start. Our economy is growing. Deposits are flowing back into our banks. Exports are thriving.
He also hailed the power of the Irish diaspora, which he called “70 million [...] particles of Ireland glittering across the globe.”
The Taoiseach is due to meet Barack Obama at the White House today.
The image of Ireland internationally is improving, Kenny insisted. He said St Patrick’s Day was a time when “all over the world people are looking at Ireland and thinking not of the transient difficulty from which we are now emerging”, adding:
They’re thinking of Ireland’s essence… of our immutable and untouchable wealth. Our warmth, our friendship, our culture, our history.
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