February 2014 - News about Ireland
The ratings agency Moody’s upgraded Irish government bonds to investment status and amended its outlook for Ireland to ‘positive’. Bloomberg reported on the news.
The Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Eamon Gilmore, announced the expansion of the Embassy and Consulate network of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Eight new missions around the world will include a new Consulate General in Austin, Texas, as Ireland increases its trade, investment and tourism focus across the American South.
The Tánaiste also launched the digitisation of Ireland’s First World War records at the offices of Google in Dublin. You can view the online archives here.
Forbes took a look at “How Irish tech entrepreneurs are rebooting Ireland’s economy” and observed that “Ireland’s entrepreneurs seem to be naturals at the start-up game”.
The New York Times reported on “Dining in Dublin”.
The Atlanta Business Chronicle spoke with proud Irish citizen Dave Fitzgerald about more than 30 years of success in the PR and marketing arena in Atlanta and across the US.
The Emigrant Support Programme, the Irish Government’s scheme for assisting not-for-profit organisations engaged in the delivery of services to members of Irish communities overseas, is now open and applications for funding will be accepted until Wednesday, February 19. Applications can be made online at www.irishabroadgrants.ie.
And at least 20 dancers from the US south-east will be competing at the World Irish Dancing Championships in London in April with the Drake School of Irish Dance – good luck to all!
Upcoming Events
The International Rugby Board Women’s Sevens World Series will take place at Kennesaw State University in Atlanta over February 15-16. The Irish team will play England, New Zealand and the Netherlands in group games on Saturday February 15, with knockout games to follow on the Sunday.
A major Emory University exhibition on “Seamus Heaney: The Music of What Happens” opens on Saturday, February 22, with a free public event at 5.30pm in the university’s Robert W. Woodruff library. The exhibition includes Heaney’s handwritten poems and drafts and recordings of some of his finest works read by actor Liam Neeson and writer Salman Rushdie.
The Irish Chamber of Commerce of Atlanta hosts Teya Ryan, the President and CEO of Georgia Public Broadcasting, for a 12pm lunchtime meeting on Wednesday, February 26, at Rí Rá Irish Pub & Restaurant. Tickets and information are at www.irishchamberofatlanta.com.
The annual black tie St. Patrick’s Day Ball of the Hibernian Benevolent Society of Atlanta will take place on Saturday, March 1, from 6.30pm at Druid Hills Golf Club.
A production of the play “Whistling Psyche” by Irish writer Sebastian Barry will run at the Woodruff Arts Center in Atlanta over February 13-23.
A College of Charleston production of “Dancing at Lughnasa” by Brian Friel opens on Thursday February 20 in South Carolina; tickets and information are here. The College will shortly launch a new Irish and Irish-American Studies programme.
The Savannah Irish Festival will take place over February 14-16, 2014. You can take a look at the line-up for one of the year’s major Irish celebration of music and dance.
Irish novelist Kevin Barry will read at Ciné in Athens, Georgia, on Monday February 24 in a free-of-charge event organised by the Willson Center for Humanities and Arts at the University of Georgia.
The next event in the Atlanta European Science Café series will be hosted at the Consulate General of France on Wednesday February 19 and will feature a talk on “Young Solar Systems in Our Own Backyard”. The event is free and open to the public.
If there are Irish events you’d like us to highlight in future newsletters, please let us know though our Contact Us page.