Strength of Boston-Irish links reflected as Shannon delegation is first from outside US received by Mayor Walsh since being sworn in last month
BOSTON, Ma., 2014-2-12 — /travelprnews.com/ — Boston Mayor Marty Walsh has said that the commencement of a new daily service between Logan and Shannon airports will be key to supporting strong business and tourism synergies between the two regions.
Speaking after a meeting with a Shannon Airport delegation led by Chairman Rose Hynes – his first meeting with an international delegation since he was sworn in last month – Mayor Walsh said that the new daily Aer Lingus service between the two airports reflects the economic ties today and deep historical links between the regions.
Mayor Walsh has close links with the West of Ireland, his parents having emigrated to Boston from Carna and Ros Muc, Co. Galway in the 1950s and intends to make a return visit during the summer.
Commenting on the importance of the new daily route form the West of Ireland, Mayor Walsh said, “No one needs any introduction to the historical influence of the Irish on this part of America but there is also a very strong economic connection today between here and the West and South coasts of Ireland, which Shannon Airport serves.
“A number of Boston headquartered multi-national corporations have significant investments in Ireland, which is an important gateway to the very lucrative European market. This daily service to Shannon will support this type of investment and will also be an excellent option for US tourists to fly into this unique and very special part of Ireland.”
Shannon Airport Authority Chairman Rose Hynes said that the meeting with the Mayor so soon since his inauguration reaffirms just how strong relations are between Boston and Ireland. “Mayor Walsh is hugely supportive of Ireland and, given his own close ties with Galway and understanding of the US investment in the region Shannon serves on transatlantic services, sees the importance of this new daily service from Shannon.
“It says a lot about the Mayor’s relationship with the West of Ireland that we were not alone the first Irish delegation he met since his inauguration but the first international delegation. His election as Mayor is an opportunity for the West and South to not just underpin the economic and tourism ties between our two regions but grow them.”
Aer Lingus commenced the daily, year-round flights for the first time in five years into Shannon, which serves a catchment on transatlantic services that runs from the south right up to the North-West. The service will be key to supporting a number of leading New England multi-nationals, including Boston Scientific, Fidelity Investments, EMC, and Analog Devices, across this region.
It will also underpin the strong tourism market into the West of Ireland from the Boston and wider New England region. Boston has the largest concentration of people in any US city of Irish extraction and one town, Scituate, 30 miles from Boston, was identified in the 2011 Census as the United States’ most Irish city, with almost 50% of residents there of Irish descent.
The service is the latest strengthening of connectivity between the US and Shannon, which this year will fly to five US destinations – Boston, New York, Newark, Philadelphia and Chicago.
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Boston Mayor Marty Walsh: new daily service between Logan and Shannon airports key for business and tourism synergies between the two regions