Premier Pat Binns was hosted by Ireland's County Monaghan Council during the Trade Team PEI trade mission this week. It is estimated that 40 per cent of PEI's Irish population immigrated to the province from County Monaghan.
Many connections have been made between PEI and County Monaghan in recent years, and the two were officially twinned in the early 1990's.
"Approximately 30 per cent of PEI's population is of Irish descent, and our Irish roots have played a large role in shaping our province," the Premier told the County Monaghan council during a civic reception on Thursday. "Over the past decade, there certainly have been a lot of connections made between your county and our Island. Through visits like this trade mission, we hope to foster these ties and build new connections."
During his tour of County Monaghan, Premier Binns visited the grave site of Canon Moyna of Emyvale, Ireland who is credited for settling virtually all of the Monaghan immigrants to PEI. The local Emyvale Development Association declared the Premier as an honourary citizen of Emyvale. Premier Binns then planted a Mountain Ash tree in the community just as former Premier Joe Ghiz had done during a visit in 1991.
The Premier has been in Ireland this week with 11 Island companies that are exploring business and trade opportunities in the Irish market.
The trade mission is an initiative of Trade Team Prince Edward Island, a partnership of federal and provincial government departments and agencies that offer various forms of export assistance to active and potential exporters. The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and Prince Edward Island Business Development Inc. are among the partners.
Participating companies include: Atlantic Canada Home, Atlantic Tourism & Hospitality Institute, AVC Inc., Bergmark Guimond Hammarlund Jones Architects, Charlottetown Metal Products, Creative Esthetics Dental Laboratory Inc., DeltaWare Systems Inc., Polar Foods International Inc., Rob Roy Builders Inc., Softworld 2002, and the University of Prince Edward Island Co-operative Education.