Ireland President McAleese: Irish Expats Bring Us Together
April 15th, 2009
The Irish President, Mary McAleese (middle) and to the right Mr. Christopher Violaris, CEO of EIG, and Mr. Oisin Creagh, Director/Architect of Murray ÓLaoire Architects
Bulgaria’s leaders, President Parvanov and PM Stanishev, welcomed the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, to Sofia Wednesday 25th March, 2009.
“The large number of Irish who visit Bulgaria are the natural bridge between our two countries because the contact between people is the most important thing, and it has been growing steadily in the recent years”, President McAleese said during her meeting with Stanishev.
On Thursday, 26th March, 2009, Ireland’s President opened a seminar entitled “Bulgaria and Ireland - European Partners” at Sofia University, followed by a business lunch hosted by Enterprise Ireland, held at the Alexander’s Ballroom, Radisson SAS Grand Hotel Sofia. The event gathered Irish and Bulgarian business leaders aiming to reflect the strong trade, investment and cultural links shared by Ireland and Bulgaria. The CEO of Eurolink Investment Group, Mr. Christopher Violaris, made very beneficial contacts with major Irish investors and exchanged views together with the Group’s Assosiates Mr. Oisin Creagh, Director of Murray ÓLaoire Architects and Mr. Frank O’Dowd, golf designer of Intergolf Inc, regarding our projects and the creation of New Varna. Mrs McAleese expressed her opinion that Bulgaria has positioned itself on the world intellectual scene. She made many comparisons between the two countries and noted that despite the significant distance Bulgaria and Ireland have similar values and history. In her words, the economic and cultural exchange between Ireland and Bulgaria proves their similarity. ‘We understand each other in the depth of our souls, as if we have known one another our whole lives’, said the Irish President. McAleese pointed out that many people from Ireland wish to visit Bulgaria. According to her more than 70 000 Irish citizens have traveled to the Black Sea country in 2008.
Later on the same day, Mrs McAleese visited the Centre for Autism and attended an Irish community reception. She will complete her visit to Bulgaria by traveling to the southern city of Plovdiv, and the Bachkovo Monastery on Friday, 27th March, 2009.
Paradoxically, President McAleese’s visit to Sofia ends just before the Ireland-Bulgaria World Cup 2010 football qualifier taking place on the forthcoming Saturday.
