The continuing fall in value of the Euro currency has proven to be a timely boost for the Irish tourist sector in particular and the Irish economy in general.

Suddenly Irish exports are 30% cheaper than they were! Visitors from the US have also reaped the benefit with their greenbacks now going a lot further on the Emerald Isle than before. Dublin airport will for the first time ever be among the top five European airports welcoming US visitors (after Charles de Gaulle in Paris, Heathrow in London, Schiphol in The Netherlands and Madrid in Spain).

The 1916 Rising events in six months time will also attract a lot of visitors to the country in what could be the greatest ever year for Irish tourism.

Such optimism is based on the statistics. The CSO has reported that here has been a 12.3% increase in US visitors to Ireland during the crucial July-September period this year, compared with last year. That is a huge increase by any standard.

Just how far the Irish tourism market has travelled can be judged by the statistic that shows that in 2000 there were 1 million transatlantic visitors to Ireland while this year the number is expected to top 2.1 million. An incredible increase.