*Cllr Tony O’Brien speaking with Kim Murphy
SHANNON AIRPORT received a big push when Clare’s first citizen made his debut appearance on US television.
Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council, Cllr Tony O’Brien (FF) appeared on FOX6 WakeUp News, the leading morning show in Milwaukee ahead of the annual Irish Fest.
O’Brien was part of a tourism delegation led by the local authority and members of the Clare Tourism Advisory Forum promoting Clare as a desirable visitor destination to over 120,000 festival goers at Milwaukee Irish Fest this weekend. They distributed literature and information on Clare’s tourism attractions to the thousands of festival goers that pass through the 74-acre site on Lake Michigan’s shoreline.
Speaking to Kim Murphy, an anchor with Fox6 WakeUp since 2000, the Killaloe representative painted a wonderful picture as he outlined reasons to visit the Banner County. “We have a very beautiful county, right across our county part of our west coast is on the Wild Atlantic Way, we’ve the beautiful Cliffs of Moher, the UNESCO accredited Geopark of the Burren”.
He added, “It’s very historical, we have our music, our culture, our Irish traditions and we’re very proud of it. On the East Coast, we have the longest river in Ireland, the River Shannon, we have Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands, it’s not very well known but you will get a very warm welcome there with so many activities, mountains to climb and scenery to see”.
While speculating that Kim herself may have had ancestral Murphy links to Clare, Tony gave his recommendations, “You must eat the Irish stew, we’ve the best steaks but our culinary seafood we’re renown for it on the Atlantic coast which is really fresh”.
As the first Clare Mayor at the Milwaukee Irish Fest since 2019, he was sure to send a strong message to visit Clare. “It’s the biggest festival of Irish culture, tradition anywhere in the world, we’re delighted to be part of it and the Co Clare stand will be there. Come and say ‘Tony said to call’, everybody is welcome and we’ll be delighted to tell you about it. We have an international airport in Clare, Shannon Airport, if you’re going to your travel agent just ask for Shannon”.
He added, “You must talk to your travel agent and do come into Shannon Airport, we’re only about 120 miles from Dublin but it saves you driving and out of the capital and the heavy traffic, we’re in the most beautiful location in the Mid-West of Ireland, you will just have a fantastic time, when you brush away all the beautiful scenery and the beautiful things to do, the people are what are special”.
Images of the county taken from Peninsula Television’s ‘Ireland County by County’ series were also beamed on big screens. The 30-minute programme, which is financially supported by Clare County Council, Tourism Ireland, the Department of Foreign Affairs, An Bord Bia, National Parks & Wildlife Service and CIE Tours International, has been aired on the Create/PBS television network and has been seen by millions of TV viewers across the United States during 2022. The programme also is available to watch on Clare County Council’s YouTube channel.
