Deputy Prime Minister Joan Burton , far right, poses for photos at the Union League.
Tanaiste (Deputy Prime Minister) Joan Burton went though Philadelphia like a whirlwind last weekend, making stops at the Irish Center, the University of Pennsylvania, Davio’s, and the Union League, where she met with Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. Mike Stack before the annual St. Patrick’s Day Gala of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, the oldest Irish organization in the US.
Her message was a two-parter. First, thanks for “your support and understanding for Ireland” during the 2008 collapse of the Irish construction industry and bank failures that crippled the Irish economy. She credited the investment of American companies in helping Ireland recover, principally in the tech, medical, and pharmaceutical sectors that are also a strong part of Pennsylvania’s economy and in Philadelphia in particular.
And her second message? “Come to Ireland this year. “
“With the fall of the euro [which is almost equal to the dollar] a good meal and a couple of pints will be more affordable,” she told an appreciative black-tie crowd at the Union League on Saturday night.
Tourism contributes about 5 billion Euro to the Irish economy each year, about four percent of its gross national product (GNP).
Burton also reminisced with the crowd about her college days when she had a J-1 student visa and worked in Atlantic City. “I earned enough to pay for my semester and to buy a nice little motorbike,” she said, adding, “which I sold—for a profit.”
Burton is the leader of the Labour Party in Ireland and also serves as minister for social protection which is responsible for assistance plans for everything from unemployment to retirement. She grew up in Dublin, an adopted child of an iron foundry worker and his wife. She was first elected to the Dail Eireann in 1992.
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