Innisfree Project Comes to a Successful Conclusion

December 15, 2003

US-IRELAND ALLIANCE SENDS MORE THAN 100 FAMILIES OF FALLEN HEROES TO IRELAND FOR HOLIDAY

In November 2001, the US-Ireland Alliance launched the "Innisfree" project during Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern's visit to New York. The Alliance pledged to raise the funds necessary to send to Ireland the widows, children and parents of the firemen, police officers and Port Authority officers who died on September 11th, 2001.

One hundred eight of the families took up the offer of the week-long holiday to any place on the island they chose. The first family traveled in the summer of 2002, most traveled this past summer, and the final family traveled earlier this month.

Trina Vargo, President of the US-Ireland Alliance, called the initiative "a tremendous success," noting that these trips brought, in the words of W.B. Yeats, 'some peace there' for these many families.

Ms. Vargo thanked the many people who made the project possible: "The Taoiseach came in quickly behind the idea, and so many people on the island quickly fell in behind him." Tourism Ireland lent its support. The Irish and Northern Ireland Hotels Federations supported the project by providing accommodation for the families. The Car Rental Council of Ireland offered cars to the families. Aer Lingus provided the Alliance with a special fare and most of the money to cover the flights was raised by the Garda Siochana, the Northern Ireland Police Service, the Ireland Golf Tour Operators Association, the staff and directors of Accenture, and the Woking and District Irish Association of Surrey, England. While the majority of funds were raised by these major iniatives, individuals and companies also made contributions that helped to ensure the program's success.

Ms. Vargo noted that the Alliance was delighted that a "positive, if unintended, consequence" of the program was that it aided the Irish tourism industry at a time when it was struggling. "Those who became involved, did so with purely philanthropic motives," noted Vargo. "What they couldn't have foreseen was that so many of these families would bring extended families and friends along on the trip -- with those people buying more rooms and airplane tickets." Nearly 550 people, who otherwise would not have traveled to the island, did so because of this program. Ms.Vargo estimated that the value of the program to the tourism industry amounted to more than $500,000.

Ms. Vargo thanked the members of the fire brigades and police officers on the island who were 'very hospitable' to the families who wished to visit with them. She especially acknowledged the role played by Specialized Travel Services of Dublin and New York, which planned the 108 trips on an individual basis. "We wanted this program to be one that would allow the families to travel in complete anonymity if they desired," Vargo explained. "We specifically did not want a few chartered jets, with all the families travelling together, and to the same destination, in a way that would put them 'on display.' The largely private format for the program meant a huge amount of labor-intensive work for Specialized Travel Services. The professionalism and courtesy they extended to each and every family was a large part of this program's success," said Vargo.

Ms. Vargo noted that the only measure of success that the Alliance cared about was the reaction of the families. With the permission of Marian Fontana, wife of deceased firefighter David Fontana, Ms. Vargo shared a sample of the kind of response the Alliance has received from the families who traveled:

I've been meaning to write you and let you know how much I appreciate the trip you planned for my son and I. We had a lovely time meeting with my husband's family and while the travelling was a bit ambitious, we enjoyed the scenery.

Most of all, I wanted to let you know how amazing it was for me to return to the place that my husband loved more than anywhere. He felt so at home with a pint of Guinness in his hands, his cousins all around. and the cliffs and rugged landscape in view. His family and I gathered in Ballycotton and took the long walk along the cliffs there down to a little beach where we said a prayer for him, wished him a happy birthday, and scattered his ashes to the wind.

It was a perfect day and a poignant ending to a special week thanks to you and the US-Ireland Alliance. I don't quite know whom I should thank personally, but if you could please extend my most heartfelt thanks to any or all of the people involved I would greatly appreciate it. The overwhelming generosity shown to Aidan and I after 9-11 was truly amazing and helped us through some of our darkest hours. Scattering Dave's ashes in Ireland gave my son and I the closure we needed and we are looking forward to finding happiness and joy again with Ireland as a beautiful memory and Dave in our hearts. Thank you.

Marian and Aidan Fontana - Wife and son of David J, Fontana - firefighter, Squad 1

Note to editors: The US-Ireland Alliance is a non-partisan, non-profit organization created in 1998 to strengthen ties between the US and the island of Ireland. The Alliance is best known for it's flagship project, the George J. Mitchell Scholarships program, which selects future leaders of the United States for a year of graduate study on the island. Corporate sponsors of the Alliance are: CRH, Diageo, Cross Atlantic Capital Partners, Elan, IONA Technologies, Jurys Doyle Hotel Group, Riverdeep and Skillsoft.