Cead Mile Failte!

Welcome to the second issue of Irish Connections. Our first issue was an unqualified success--readers enthused and advertisers responded. I thank the public for the tremendous support we received. Phone calls and e mails came in requesting copies; one lady who was a Jean Butler fan rang from Baltimore; another call came from a man in Boston. The Celtic Cafe website e mailed us and asked that we join them in celebrating Irish dance--which of course are doing. So again I thank the public whose response was way above expectation. Exciting, fresh and stimulating was how we were described--such reaction is just fabulous.

Many thanked us for offering a fresh approach to covering people from the world wide Irish community; others felt that our whole attitude and style is invigorating. We were told it was a magazine connecting various smaller communities with the Irish community at large. People realized that we are an inclusive magazine and have the support of most elements of the Irish world whether it is in America or Ireland itself.

We are covering people in a challenging and honest way, without prejudice or favoring one concern over another. This magazine is both for the new generations and the established generations; the foundations of the Irish people and the future. And it is for anyone who is a fan of the people inside. We write about people of Irish origins but we aren't simply for people of Irish descent--we for anyone who loves the Irish way, the sense of family and all the values that have made the Irish people strong over the ages.

I thank the writers, photographers, and editors who worked hard and long to get the issue out with far less reward than was possible at the time. The Bishop of Cork said to me that "the people of Cork are proud of what Paddy McCarthy has done and that he has not forgotten his own people. He has produced a wonderful magazine to be proud of here in Cork and Ireland."

The standard has been set for anybody who has risen up from the ashes to become a publisher of a magazine like this. 1 felt this was the epitome of success in of itself, and that's what this magazine is all about--a celebration of success, not merely of the financial sort, but of creative and personal success.

I made the decision to produce this magazine because I felt like giving back to the community. Through this magazine we feel we can discover new talent, promote ideas that maybe weren't getting exposure elsewhere orjust to say something about someone in a new and different way. For example when we interviewed John Sharkey, Editor Brud Balfour looked to discover things about John that hadn't been said before. We tried to bring out hidden talents and ideas that John has which we felt have been overlooked--his role as mentor, as a forward-thinking business man and as one who has not lost a sense of his roots. We featured Alice O 'Rourke, head of New York New Media Association becuase she is at the forefront of the internet generation. We want public to know that the previous issue was our premiere issue--so we gave a little extra time for its exposure to the world at large. This issue begins our bi monthly schedule and I hope to increase our schedule in time.

This issue we spotlight travel to Ireland. We have tried to cover most of the broad strokes about travelling to fire and how the success of the Celtic Tiger has affected the industry. New vistas are available for tourists or persons on business in Ireland. Though this section only offers a glimpse of the travel spectrum we feel you will have something you can carry in your pocket to make your excursion there easier and more enjoyable. We had several regular travelers to Ireland including our Travel Project editors Peggy Verhagen and Joe Murphy add their personal suggestions to the mix. We wanted the section to feel as if they were speaking to you directly.

We have also focused on New York's theater scene because Irish Theater has become so prominent again. It is enjoying a resurgence in the city and has exposure as it never had before. Actor Gabriel Byrne, actress Fiona Shaw, and playwright JP Donleavy are featured. Our regular theater and film critic Terry Roethlein spoke to actress Sinead Cusack, and writer/director James Ryan. Even dancer Sean Curran who has worked with plays such as James Joyce's The Dead, has theatrical experience of one kind or another.

We are still experimenting, expanding and growing some sections. There are sections that we had in our premiere issues that aren't here this time. So we ask you to give us feedback and tell us what you like don't like don't like and would prefer to see in this magazine.