Once again, I welcome everyone to a new issue of Irish Connections.

We are still celebrating New York's St. Patrick's Day Parade Grand Marshals and the party we held in their honor (see pages 56-58). Yet with this issue, Irish Connections also celebrates Ireland as a world class travel destination, and its continuing presence as a place to go for both veteran travelers and newcomers to the island. Even though during the foot-and-mouth crisis that plagued England, the country experienced something of a setback to the record number of travellers set last year, reports from the travel industry suggest an incredible comeback. So though it seemed that the Celtic Tiger had gotten caged, it is now out again and as vibrant as ever. Thankfully, the powers behind the Irish government made shrewd and strategic decisions that have allowed the travel business to recover effectively.

For example the Irish Tourist Board lined up Irish-American actor Martin Sheen to do several promotional ads and other efforts were undertaken to help stimulate the strong interest in Ireland that had been there. Thus a calamity has been prevented and the excitement is there again. Now with everything back on track, we celebrate travel to Ireland as we did last year but with much more this time. We feature two of the most prominent people in the Irish travel world-Jim McGuigan who heads the Irish Tourist Board in America, and CIE Tours' Brian Stack. Both share an incredible enthusiasm for getting people to appreciate the Irish experience whether they are of Irish background or not.

Just as our magazine is oriented to celebrate the Irish experience, so are they. It is my pleasure to get our special Travel issue to you, our readers. We have come a long way since last year and we strive to create a magazine that reflect your interests and needs--a magazine that has the best the international Irish community has to offer in the entertainment and business worlds. This is an open request for you to call us, write us or e mail us with your suggestions, interests, press releases, and anything else you think would make this a better magazine.

Note our new address as published in the masthead.