McAleese To Visit New York

President Mary McAleese will leave Ireland this Thursday beginning a four-day visit to New York.

During the visit the President will promote Irish economic links with the US, strengthen links with the Irish community and lead the National Day of Commemoration to remember and honour the 1.5 million people, who either perished or emigrated from Ireland during the Great Irish Famine of the 1840s.

The President's program will begin on Thursday with an event to honour Irish-Americans in the Life Sciences sector sponsored by the Irish Voice newspaper.

On Friday, the President will attend a breakfast for business leaders at the New York Stock Exchange and from there visit PS 197 in Brooklyn where the children are learning about the Great Hunger/An Gorta Mór as part of the New York Famine Curriculum.

She will then formally open a seminar, "Hunger in the 21st Century: Ireland and the fight against famine" organized by Self Help Africa and Concern which will take place at the Consulate General of Ireland.

The panellists will include Kalongo Chitengi, Country Director, Self Help Africa in Zambia; Helen Clark, UNDP administrator and former Prime Minister of New Zealand; Kevin Farrell, the Government of Ireland's Special Envoy for Hunger; Angela O'Neil, Regional Director, Concern Worldwide.

The seminar will be moderated by Roger Thurow, Senior Fellow, Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

The President will also visit the American Irish Historical Society on Friday meeting with members of the older community, honoring three newly-minted centenarians, and marking the first anniversary of Senior Connect in the US.

On Friday evening, President McAleese will open the "Ireland's Great Hunger/An Gorta Mór" the Quinnipiac University Collection exhibition at the Consulate General of Ireland, followed by a reception for members of the Irish community.

On Saturday, President McAleese will deliver the commencement address at Fordham University in the Bronx.

There's a special treat on Sunday - the President's last day in New York - which will begin with a ceremony to mark the generosity of the New York Jewish community to the people of Ireland during the Famine in 1847.

The ceremony will take place in Congregation Shearith Israel (2 West 70th Street at Central Park West), whose Congregation houses archives dating back to colonial days (this, the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue in the City of New York, was founded in 1654). This event will be open to the general public.

The President will also attend a Mass celebrated by Archbishop Timothy Dolan in St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Her visit will culminate on Sunday afternoon with the official New York commemoration of the Great Hunger/An Gorta Mór at the Irish Hunger Memorial in Battery Park City.

President McAleese will be accompanied by her husband, Dr. Martin McAleese throughout the visit.