Tourism Ireland is thrilled to announce that one of Ireland's top chefs is available for interview this St Patrick's week. The delightful Catherine Fulvio is a wonderful ambassador for the Irish Culinary scene and with St Patrick's Day fast approaching, she will provide all the necessary ingredients to cook up a memorable Irish feast.

TV Chef / proprietor, food writer and cookery tutor, Catherine Fulvio, runs Ballyknocken Cookery School and Ballyknocken House. Catherine, herself a Wicklow native, says she learnt her cooking skills from her mother and then trained professionally. Her naturally vivacious personality and pure infectious enthusiasm for food has led her to where she is today.

A hugely accomplished chef and a wonderful interviewee and broadcaster, Catherine would provide a perfect insight into an Irish culinary scene that has enjoyed a marvelous renaissance in recent years.

If you are interested in featuring Catherine please contact Bernard McMullan at Tourism Ireland, telephone 212 418 0847 or email bmcmullan@tourismireland.com

Tourism Ireland is thrilled to announce that one of the world’s leading experts on St Patrick is available for interview.  The delightful Dr Tim Campbell is a wonderful ambassador for Ireland and with St Patrick’s Day fast approaching, he will provide all the necessary insights to ensure you know everything there is to know about the world’s favorite saint. 
 
Dr Tim Campbell is the director of the Saint Patrick Centre in the town of Downpatrick, where the saint is buried. It is the only permanent exhibition in the World dedicated to Ireland's Patron Saint and one of the top tourist destinations in Ireland. Situated in the heart of Saint Patrick's Country, beside Down Cathedral and Patrick's Grave, it is the central hub worldwide, for all things St Patrick.

A wonderful interviewee and broadcaster, Dr Tim would provide a perfect insight into the life and times of St Patrick and what he means to the world in 2012. If you are interested in featuring Dr Tim please contact Bernard McMullan at Tourism Ireland, telephone 212 418 0847 or email bmcmullan@tourismireland.com

Tourism Ireland is thrilled to announce that one of Ireland's top chefs is available for interview St. Patrick's Week 2012. The delightful Rachel Gaffney is a wonderful ambassador for the Irish Culinary scene and with St Patrick's Day fast approaching, she will provide all the necessary ingredients to cook up a memorable Irish feast.

Born and raised in County Cork, now living in the US, Rachel's vision is to introduce foodies to THE REAL IRELAND. Through her AUTHENTIC IRISH GOODS she is on a mission to educate and entertain people about the joys of the Irish Culinary scene.

"Traditional Butter shortbread was a staple in my house growing up. I can still remember my mum making trays of the freshly iced shortbread for my birthday parties. Now I can bring the same to you. Using the finest ingredients, unsalted Irish butter, unbleached and unbromated flour, and sugar, these shortbreads are still made the same way my mum made them. I challenge you to try these melt in your mouth shortbreads….."

A hugely accomplished chef and a wonderful interviewee and broadcaster, Rachel would provide a perfect insight into an Irish culinary scene that has enjoyed a marvelous renaissance in recent years. If you are interested in featuring Rachel please contact Bernard McMullan at Tourism Ireland, telephone 212 418 0847 or email bmcmullan@tourismireland.com

Tourism Ireland is thrilled to announce that one of Ireland’s top artists is available for interview this St. Patrick’s Week. The delightful Una Heaton is a wonderful ambassador for Ireland and with St Patrick’s Day fast approaching, she will provide all the necessary insights into one of the most popular festivals in the world.

Una was born in the beautiful city of Limerick and studied art at the Limerick College of Art & Design. As a working artist she runs a gallery in the Old Leamy School, scene of famous Irish writer Frank McCourt's early education. The venue has been expanded into a McCourt museum and Una offers a unique view into the life of one of Ireland's most renowned writers.

A hugely accomplished artist and a wonderful interviewee and broadcaster, Una would provide a perfect insight into the Irish cultural scene. She is available in New York on New York 15, 16 and 17.

If you are interested in featuring Una please contact:
Bernard McMullan | bmcmullan@tourismireland.com | 212 418 0847

Did you know that the great ship Titanic was built in Belfast, Northern Ireland? It was alive and very much part of the city's industrial fabric for three years before its launch.

Susie Millar is the great granddaughter of a titanic engineer who was lost in the disaster and as such is in a unique position to offer a very personal story. Thomas Millar worked as an engine fitter and helped build the engines for both the great liners, Olympic and Titanic. In 1912, just three months after his wife died leaving the 33-year old Thomas to raise the couple's two young boys, he decided that he would sail on the Titanic to New York where he would start a new life for himself and his sons. He signed up for a job as an assistant deck engineer on the Titanic and made plans to leave Ireland and start again in America. Just before boarding the Titanic, Millar gave each of his sons – 11-year old Thomas Jr. and 5-year old William Ruddick – a shiny, new penny. The boys, who were being left with their aunt, were told to keep the pennies and not spend them until their dad returned to get them. Of course, he never did make it back.

Today, Susie Millar is a board member of the Titanic foundation and the Belfast Titanic Society and she still has the two pennies that were left behind by her great grandfather Thomas Millar. Check out some TV clips of Susie at the links below.

www.volunteertv.com
www.bbc.co.uk

If you want a unique view of Ireland then Martin is your man. Guide to the stars he has escorted Hollywood film stars, Russian oligarchs, US politicians and an Irish Taoiseach, but it doesn't matter whether you're Will Ferrell, Susan Boyle or whoever, when the award-winning Martin McCrossan is your guide you get the same passionate delivery and the same encyclopedic knowledge of the emerald Isle.

Martin's forte is a walk around the city he calls home, Derry, a place that has seen great changes in recent years. When Martin started guiding two decades ago, it was a very different story. With the Troubles at their height, visitors were few and far between and even his beloved walls, the centerpiece of his Derry City Tour, were a cause of division. "I used to describe these walls as a noose for the city, now I call them a necklace", he says. "In my younger days you couldn't walk around them, the gates were always locked, except for marches. Now they are open all the time. They are a fantastic monument, and our biggest attraction. People are amazed when they come here at how big and wide they are – over a mile in circumference. They are the only complete set of walls in Ireland and one of the finest in Europe".

If you are interested in featuring Martin please contact Bernard McMullan | bmcmullan@tourismireland.com | 212 418 0847

Tourism Ireland is thrilled to announce that one of Ireland's top chefs is available to interview St. Patrick's Week 2012. Darina is a wonderful ambassador for the Irish Culinary scene and with St Patrick's Day fast approaching, she will provide all the necessary ingredients to cook up a memorable Irish feast.

Darina Allen is executive chef and owner of Ballymaloe House and Cookery School, Cork, Ireland. For more than twenty-five years, Chef Allen has been one of Ireland's most beloved and prolific culinary representatives. In 1983, she established the Ballymaloe Cookery School, which is a member of the prestigious Ireland's Blue Book. The school draws students from throughout the world. She has written or co-written ten cookbooks, many of which are part of a successful series of cookbooks published by Gill & Macmillan. Her most recent book is Easy Entertaining, published in 2005. She has won numerous awards, including "International Cooking Teacher of the Year," awarded by the International Association of Culinary Professionals in 2005, an honorary doctorate from the University of Ulster in 2003, Veuve Clicquot "Business Woman of the Year" in 2001, and the Waterford Wedgewood Hospitality Award in 2000. A sought-after personality by the media, Allen has made several appearances on Good Morning America, NBC's Weekend Today Show, CBS's Early Show, and QVC's Shopping Channel. In Ireland, RTE, Ireland's national television, created an eight-segment series called Simply Delicious, based on her cookbooks, and Carlton Food Network produced a twenty-six-part series called A Year at Ballymaloe Cookery School.

A hugely accomplished chef and a wonderful interviewee and broadcaster, Darina would provide a perfect insight into an Irish culinary scene that has enjoyed a marvelous renaissance in recent years. If you are interested in featuring Darina please contact Bernard McMullan at Tourism Ireland, telephone 212 418 0847 or email bmcmullan@tourismireland.com

Helen Kelly is a professional genealogist and a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists in Ireland (APGI). She has been involved in genealogy and tourism since the 1980s and holds an extra-mural certificate in genealogy from University College Dublin (1992), a diploma in Local History from the National University of Ireland - Maynooth (1998) and a National Tour Guide Certificate from CERT (2002).

She also engages in consultancy work at the genealogical service in the National Archives since its inception in 2003.

In 2007, she was appointed consultant genealogist to the Dublin's prestigious 5 star Shelbourne Hotel, where she holds the unique title of Genealogy Butler.

In addition to genealogy consultancy work, Helen carries out all-Ireland research on behalf of clients. She is particularly interested in the midland counties of Westmeath and Longford, and in the descendants of emigrants from those counties who settled in Argentina.

She lectures frequently on Irish ancestry in Ireland, England and North and South America, and as in 2010, she will be the consultant genealogist on the Tourism Ireland stand at the 2011 Who do you Think You Are show.

Pre eminent in the field of genealogy Helen is a wonderful interviewee and broadcaster. Helen can provide unparelled insight into Irish ancestry that has consistently fascinated and intrigued over the years. If you are interested in featuring Helen please contact Bernard McMullan at Tourism Ireland, telephone 212 418 0847 or email bmcmullan@tourismireland.com