A Gulf News sponsored supplement, 23 April 2013

IrelandFriend and partner to UAE

Ireland’s temperate climate allows our grass to grow all year round. Our farms have been looked after by generation after generation of Irish families. To learn more about sustainable food from Ireland contact us today at info@bordbia.ie

Bord Bia, the Irish Food Board, is a government marketing agency tasked with developing export markets for Irish food and drink companies, from the smallest artisan producer to leading edge manufacturers.

www.bordbia.ie

2

The Gathering Ireland 2013 will see many events large and small all over Ireland

3

A supplement to the Gulf News, 23 April 2013

IrelandFriend and partner to UAE

A supplementpublished withthe Gulf News April 23rd 2013

Contents

CreditsPublished and produced by JustinMedia InternationalEmail: tara@justininternational.comTel: + 353 1 5156271

Written and designedby gersiggins@gmail.com

6 Trading partnersSeán Davis of EnterpriseIrelandon business links

8 Health mattersRoyal College ofSurgeons inDublin is popularwith Emiratimedical students

11EntertainmentThe McGettiganfamily have madegreat strides inDubai hospitality

12 Thanks a billionColm McLoughlinis a legendaryfigure in dutyfree shopping

Your brief covers Trans-port, Tourism and Sport.Do you see these threeareas neatly combining inthe way Ireland works withthe UAE?Tourism is a very serious busi-ness for Ireland and for oureconomy. International access isvital for the recovery of ourtourism market and campaignsare regularly run overseas. Wehave a strong focus on develop-ing niche tourism products andactivity packages such as food,sports, culture, ecotourism, ac-tivity breaks, water-based recre-ation and festivals.

Tourism between Irelandand UAE has greatly in-creased in recent times, inwhat areas do you think itcan further develop?Figures for 2012 show over 6.5million visits from overseas toIreland with expenditure ofnearly €3 billion, with 223,000trips from developing marketssuch as the UAE generatingrevenue of €155 million.

I think tourism to Ireland canfurther develop across a widerange of areas, given that weare still building awareness ofour country in the Emirates,

with both local and expatriatemarkets. We can build on ourexisting close links in equestriansports, including horse racing.The best way to experience ourbeautiful landscape is to get outand about. There is also realpotential for more families inthe Gulf to come to Ireland forthe mild weather, our friendlypeople and the range of thingsto see and do - including ourrich heritage of music and his-tory. We now have high qualityaccommodation and food,while our hotels, restaurants

and attractions offer good valueto holidaymakers.

Do you see potential forlinks and exchanges inareas such as sport the future?There are already strong sport-ing links between Ireland andthe UAE through the GaelicAthletic Association. GAAclubs have been established inAbu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjahand they compete in the Asianand Gulf Games. The GAAAll-Stars have toured Dubai ontwo occasions and an Inter-provincial hurling final betweenConnacht and Leinster was heldin Abu Dhabi in 2009. I thinkthis has the potential forstronger links in the future.

When talking about Irelandto someone from the UAEwho intends to travel there,what do you particularlyrecommend they visit?I would have to urge visitors totake the opportunity to join usfor the Gathering Ireland 2013,a year-long celebration of allthings Irish which includeshigh-profile international eventsas well as smaller, more localgatherings.

Come join us in Ireland inthis year of The GatheringIreland’s tourism minister Leo Varadkar on why the famousGreen island is the perfect tourist destination for Emiratis

Ireland’s Minister forTransport, Tourism andSport, Mr Leo Varadkar

IHAVE been in my current postingsince the establishment of the UnitedArab Emirates embassy in Ireland in2010. Establishing the UAE Embassyin Ireland symbolises the friendly tiesthat bind the UAE and Ireland and it

demonstrates as well the shared interest and com-mitment of the leadership in both countries to en-hance bilateral relations between our nations.

As the first resident Ambassador of the UAE inIreland, I have been privileged and honoured toconvey the good wishes of His Highness SheikhKhalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Presidentof the UAE, and His Highness Sheikh Mohammedbin Rashid Al Maktoum Vice President and PrimeMinister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to HisExcellency President Michael D Higgins and thefriendly Irish people.

I would like to acknowledge the continuing goodrelations between the UAE and Ireland and thetremendous support of the Irish government andin particular the Department of Foreign Affairs andTrade to our mission. This support has paved theway for mutual visits at ministerial level and has re-sulted in the improvement that we witness in the re-lations between the two countries.

In the past three years, I have toured this mar-velous island from coast to coast. I have always beenwelcomed by warm-hearted, generous Irish people.So, my experience on all levels has been fascinatingand has left a positive impression on me. I am happyto be here and I look forward to playing a construc-tive role in developing a long and lasting relationshipbetween the UAE and Ireland.

Trade between Ireland and the UAE has in-creased in recent times, where do youthink it can further develop?The UAE is Ireland’s second biggest trading partnerin the Arab world. Ireland exports to the UAEreached €270million in 2011 compared to €16mil-lion in 1986, and Ireland imports from the UAE issteadily growing. Etihad and Emirates now operatebetween the nations making the UAE the secondmost important long-haul flying destination out ofIreland with 17 scheduled flights per week offeringmore than 8,000 passenger seats.

There are now more than 50 Irish owned busi-nesses operating in the UAE and over 7000 Irishliving and working there. The UAE is now an es-tablished holiday destination for Irish tourists, andthere are growing numbers of UAE citizens visitingIreland for leisure or business, others attending in-stitutions of higher education.

In my view, establishing a UAE-Irish BusinessCouncil might help entrepreneurs in both countriesto have an organised and advanced level of coop-eration in trade, business and investment and itmight assist as well in exploring how best to fosterand develop cooperation in different sectors.

Bringing businessmen and women together underan umbrella of a Business Council would undoubt-edly help create networks, articulate ideas, proposeplans, coordinate efforts, develop partnerships andconsider initiatives that can boost the UAE-Irishbusiness relations in many sectors.

Art, culture and sport are very importantto both countries – where do you see po-tential for links and exchanges?There have been significant UAE investments inIreland over the past years in sport. For example,there are over 500 top quality thoroughbred race-horses owned by the UAE living and breeding inIreland. They are accommodated on seven differentUAE-owned stud farms.

The UAE participated in the Volvo OceanRace festival in Galway in July 2012 where twotraditional Arabian sailing dhows were flown into take part in the celebrations. Travelling withthem were 10 UAE sailors as part of the UAE-Ireland Maritime Heritage Cultural Exchange tohighlight social and cultural ties. Thousands ofIrish fans turned out to enjoy the activities, com-petitions and heritage displays that were organ-ised by the Abu Dhabi Tourism and CultureAuthority as part of the Emirates Day.

Last year, the School of Drama Film and Music,in association with the National Academy of Dra-matic Art at Trinity College Dublin, hosted a re-ception in honour of the visit by the SharjahNational Theatre, where the National Theatreperformed the celebrated play Nimrod written byHis Highness Sheikh Dr Sultan Bin MohammedAl Qasimi, member of the UAE Federal SupremeCouncil, Ruler of the Emirate of Sharjah. JimmyDeenihan, Minister for Arts, Heritage and theGaeltacht, students and professors from TrinityCollege and members of the UAE community inIreland attended the event.

So the potential for cultural and sport links andexchanges between the UAE and Ireland is thereand we fully support such links and activities.

In what ways do you intend to expand themutual relationship between Ireland andthe UAE in your posting?I would like to expand the mutual relationship be-tween the UAE and Ireland in many fields. Boostingtrade and investment is one of my priorities. Lastsummer the UAE government lifted the age restric-tion for Irish beef exports and reached an agree-ment allowing for the export of poultry meatproducts to the UAE. Organising a joint UAE-Ire-land exhibition is also in my mind where we couldpromote and facilitate interaction on all levels by ex-changing views on business, culture, art, sport, ed-ucation, science, energy, environment, etc. I wouldalso like to see a UAE-Irish Joint Committee onEconomic and Technical Cooperation to help boosteconomic relations on an official level.

It is important to have a joint parliamentary com-mittee and to create partnerships between institu-tions of higher education, and in the health,pharmaceuticals and IT sectors. In the near future Iwould like to see a trade mission led by theTaoiseach visit the UAE. Such a visit would facilitateinteraction between the leadership in both countriesand would pave the way for deeper cooperation andstronger, fruitful relations.

When talking to someone in the UAE whointends to travel to Ireland, what do yourecommend they visit?Ireland is one of the most fabulous natural land-scapes on earth. Many visitors to Ireland take theDublin city tour, go to Wicklow and Glendalough,travel to Newgrange and Monasterboice, Cliffs ofMoher. Some like to travel to Cork, others like tomake a trip to Kilkenny, Galway or Waterford. Itis nice and beautiful wherever you go. Ireland isfull of heritage and unique culture so when touristsvisit the Writers Museum in Dublin they discoverIreland's immense literary heritage and Ireland’sgreat writers. When they visit the Chester BeattyLibrary they learn about the great collection ofmanuscripts, miniature paintings, prints, drawings,rare books from across the Middle East and NorthAfrica. They see Egyptian papyrus texts and thebeautifully illuminated copies of the Qur'an. TheIrish areeverywhere known to be brave, warm andintelligent people. Therefore, I always encouragemy countrymen and women to visit Ireland. I amcertain that once the visa restriction is lifted a goodnumber of them would visit Ireland.

I would also like to encourage the Irish peopleto go visit the UAE. I am sure that they wouldenjoy the warm waters, the sandy beaches, theculture, heritage but most importantly the hos-pitality and generosity of the UAE people.

Our man in DublinHE Ambassador Khalid Nasser Rashed Lootah is the representativeof the UAE to Ireland. Here he gives his impression of life in that land

HE Khalid Nasser Rashed Lootah,Ambassador of UAE to Ireland

4

I ARRIVED in the UAE in Oc-tober 2009 and the Embassy of-ficially opened later that monthwhen I had the honour of pre-senting my credentials to H.H.Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed.

This is a place where things arehappening and, because of that, itis attracting the world’s attention.The first 41 years have seen remark-able achievements and I think thecoming decades will cement therole of the UAE as a global hub.

Trade relations between Irelandand UAE are good but, as always,there is room for improvement.

One of the areas where we willsee significant progress is food. Ire-

land has a strong agricultural tradi-tion; in recent years this has beencombined with technology to buildsome of the best agri-businesscompanies in the world, in particu-lar in dairy, nutritionals and ingredi-ent. On top of that, we have firstclass products – such as meat,cheese and seafood – being deliv-ered through restaurants and super-markets, throughout the UAE.

Irish companies in the financial

services, medical devices, softwareand pharmaceuticals areas have en-joyed success in the UAE and, be-cause of their quality, are set forcontinued strong growth.

Businesses from both countrieswill drive the further develop-ment of trade. The Embassy andEnterprise Ireland will play a sup-porting role but it is enterprisingbusinessmen and businesswomenwho will lead the growth.

We have had some memorableexchanges in the field of art andculture. Last year we had an ex-change of traditional sailing boatsand sailors between Ireland and theUAE, highlighting our shared mar-itime heritage: dhows, and theirsailors, visited Ireland and webrought a traditional GalwayHooker to Abu Dhabi.

In 2011, the National Youth Or-chestra of Ireland played concertsin Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Dubai.If hope can arrange for this YouthOrchestra to visit again.

For Arab visitors to Ireland, Ialways recommend a visit to theChester Beatty Library in Dublin,because of the wonderful Arabicand Islamic artworks, one of theworld’s finest collections.

Its easy to get into the greencountryside: you can go fromdowntown shopping to hiking orhorse-riding in the mountainswithin 40 minutes.

I also recommend visitors headwest, to Galway, Clare, Kerry orCork, to experience new landscapes,good food and warm welcomes.

Strong relationship betweentwo of the friendliest nationsHE AmbassadorCiaran Madden,the representativeof Ireland in theUAE, outlines themany areas of co-operation

Deputy prime minister Eamon Gilmore with some ofthe young Emiratis who are studying in Ireland

Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland Coláiste Ríoga na Máinleá in Éirinn

RCSI School of Pharmacywww.rcsi.ie/admissions

Our Mission: To educate, nurture and discover for the bene�t of human health

5

EONTERPRISE Ireland hashad an office in the UAEsince 2002. In February2012 Seán Davis assumedthe role of Regional Direc-

tor for the Middle East & North Africa,managing a team of six in Dubai andthree in Riyadh.

“Enterprise Ireland is firmly focused onsupporting Irish companies doing busi-ness with the UAE. Over the past 11years our trade relationship with the re-gion has developed tremendously”, hesaid in an interview.

“Today over 100 Irish companies havea business development or manufacturingpresence in the UAE, with many moreacross the region. This has been enabledgreatly by the direct air service that nowexists between Dubai and Dublin withEmirates, and Abu Dhabi and Dublinwith Etihad. As regional hubs both AbuDhabi and Dubai offer fantastic onwardconnectivity options, enabling ambitiouscompanies to forge new partnerships, al-liances and business ventures in the re-gion.

“Enterprise Ireland believes that buildingmutually beneficial relationships with inter-national partners is a core element of suc-cess. To ensure the UAE and Irish tradingrelationship continues to flourish, it is alsoimportant to recognise the role played bystakeholders such as the Irish Business Net-works across the region including Dubai,Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Doha and Manama; theJoint Arab Irish Chamber of Commerce inDublin, the UAE Embassy in Ireland and ofcourse our close working relationship withboth Embassies of Ireland led by Ambassa-dor Madden in Abu Dhabi and AmbassadorHolohan in Riyadh.

“At Enterprise Ireland we are focused

on leveraging highly innovative solutionsbeing developed in Ireland to create suc-cessful and profitable partnerships be-tween Irish and local companies. Irishcompanies have developed innovative so-lutions across many industries to createnew revenue streams, manages processes,educate and increase effectiveness and ef-ficiency.

“Enterprise Ireland client companies

have been focusing on the UAE, buildingrelationships and establishing local officesfor many years. For example, based herein the UAE are Fexco and Monex – twoof the global leaders in dynamic currencyconversion; CR2 - a leader in multi-chan-nel banking solutions; Ezetop – the oper-

ator of the largest international onlinerecharge site for mobile phones based atDAFZA; the Digital Marketing Institute– an internationally recognized leader inthe provision of digital marketing courses,and Intuition – global leaders in e-Learn-ing solutions for the financial, Govern-ment, healthcare and wider corporatesectors.

“Ireland also has considerable expertisein project management, engineering,building management systems, aviation,ICT, enterprise software and productsfor the consumer retail sector.

“At the centre of Ireland’s smart econ-omy is a world-class education system andwe are very proud that many thousandsof students from the Middle East chooseIreland for their university education.

“The UAE is also a primary market forEnterprise Ireland’s campaign to attractinternational mobile entrepreneurs tochoose Ireland as the location for theirnext high potential start-up business.

“The vision of the Rulers and leader-ship in the UAE and across the region isself evident in the world-class, leading-edge projects that are currently under wayor being planned.

“To demonstrate Irish companies’ capa-bilities Enterprise Ireland supported del-egations have attended pan-regional tradeevents such as Arab Health, Aircraft In-teriors Middle East, IECHE in Riyadh,GHEDEX in Muscat, Arabian TravelMart in Dubai, Project Qatar in Doha andGITEX in Dubai.

“The tremendous support of the twoIrish Ambassadors and their teams at theEmbassies in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh can-not be overstated as we continue to buildrelations on multiple levels, on a platformof mutual interests.”

Building onrelationshipsin the region

EIGHT LITTLE-KNOWN FACTSABOUT IRELAND’S ECONOMY

Seán Davis, Regional Director for EnterpriseIreland, heads a strong team of six in Dubai

Seán Davis, Regional Directorof Enterprise Ireland

6

2nd in the world for probiotic research 3rd in the world for immunologyResearch 4th largest exporter of beef inthe world 20% of the world’s infant for-mula is produced in Ireland 8th in the world for Materials Science 6th in the world for Nano Science Ireland was also ranked themost globalised nation in theworld in a recently published Ernst &Young index Among the top five exporters ofsoftware in the world

AMONG the fastest growing sportsin the UAE are Gaelic Football andHurling. These Irish games are excit-ing, fast-moving field games that aregreat fun for all ages and family-friendly.

In Ireland they are the most pop-ular sports, with more participantsthan even football, rugby and cricketat which Ireland regularly shines atWorld Cups. More than 82,000 spec-tators pack into Croke Park everySeptember for the All-Ireland finalsin each code.

The Gaelic sports came to theEmirates in 1995 when the DubaiCelts club was founded by Paul Mc-Cabe and a group of enthusiastic pi-oneers.

The club has grown enormouslyand is now the largest in the MiddleEast and one of the most successfulin Asia.

The club hosts an annual tourna-ment, called the Gulf Gaelic Gameswhich is sponsored by Dubai DutyFree and draws teams from all overthe Emirates and the wider region,as well as Ireland, the UK, Europeand South Africa.

The event draws many spectatorsto the Sevens Stadium on the E66Dubai to Al Ain Road.

To cope with the heat, games startat 9am.

A thriving children’s section, run byThomas McElligott, meets everySaturday from 4.30pm to 6pm in

Jebel Ali Primary School and moredetails are available on the DubaiCelts website.

With unemployment high in Ire-land, many young people have emi-grated to seek opportunities andmany have come to UAE. Ireland’sloss is most definitely a gain for theGaels of the region.

Donal McCarthy, an active mem-ber of the Dubai GAA scene, said

the clubs would be the most repre-sentative of those who move to theUAE, but there is also an Irish foot-ball club and several Irish are in-volved in the local rugby scene.

“Some of the clubs here have dou-bled in size. Some of them were noteven there two years ago - such asSharjah club and Al Ain club,” DubaiGAA member Donal McCarthy said.

“Even if they don't play, some joinfor the social side of things,” he said.“The Irish are a bit nomadic anyway.The numbers are increasing hugely.The St Patrick's ball [in March] soldout with 700 tickets, but it could haveeasily sold 1,000.”

Meanwhile, Etihad airways hasagreed to sponsor the All IrelandHurling Championship for five years,and its logo adorns the iconic Irishvenue,

Etihad Airways has also becomethe sponsor of the spectacular newSkyline tourist attraction at the sta-dium.

The Irish go out to play

Dubai Celtswww.dubaicelts.comSharjah Wanderers Ladies Gaelic Football Club

GAA CLUBS IN THE UAE & region

Skilful Gaelic sports of Hurling and Gaelic Football are growing in UAE

Dubai play Qatar in a GulfGames encounter

7

Abu Dhabi Na Fianna www.abudhabinafianna.comClann na hOman/Muscat Magpies www.muscatmagpies.com

THE Royal College ofSurgeons in Irelandhas been educatingyoung men and

women from the GCC countriesas competent doctors for almost40 years. RCSI are proud of ourgraduates who are making a sig-nificant contribution to healthcaredelivery right across the region.

RCSI has grown from its origi-nal Medical School roots and nowincludes a School of PostgraduateStudies, a School of Physiother-apy and a School of Pharmacy.

The role of the pharmacist isof critical importance for the safeand effective delivery of health-care to patients. For over a decadethe Royal College of Surgeons inIreland (RCSI) has offered under-graduate and postgraduate educa-tion to pharmacy students,pharmacists and healthcare pro-fessionals. The RCSI School ofPharmacy is opening up additionalseats to offer to students from theGCC to wish to undertake a careerin this exciting and fast changingarea of Healthcare delivery.

Pharmacy students are requiredto complete five years of educa-tion in order to register as a phar-macist in the European Union.The first four years of educationand training lead to the award ofa Bachelor of Science in Phar-macy. The RCSI four-year pro-gramme, leading to a B.Sc.(Pharm.), was evaluated inde-pendently to be the best pro-gramme in Ireland.

Students from the Gulf Regioncan exit the RCSI programme atYear 4 with a B.Sc. (Pharm.) andreturn home to undertake sixmonths training in a State hospitalor health centre and then be eligi-ble to register as a pharmacist.Some students from the Gulf stayin the RCSI for a fifth year andthereby are eligible to be regis-tered as pharmacist not only intheir home country but also any-where in the European Union.

The completion of the fifthyear leads to the award of a Mas-ters In Pharmacy (Pharm.). ThisM. Pharm. programme is deliv-ered over 12 months with the in-tern based in an approved trainingestablishment under the supervi-sion of a tutor. Giving an exampleof how this works in practice,

Professor Gallagher, Head of theRCSI School of Pharmacy, said,“The intern is based in their train-ing establishment for most of theyear. They attend RCSI for skillstraining and complete online

modules and a clinical audit”. Thisblended-learning approach is en-abled by two customised elec-tronic platforms. Since 2009 RCSIhas graduated over 500 pharma-cists through this programme.

In May 2013 RCSI will estab-lish the first leadership body forthe profession of pharmacy inIreland. This leadership body willjoin RCSI’s already establishedpostgraduate medical, dental andnursing faculties building on theheritage of the College in surgerysince 1784.

Professor Gallagher con-firmed that the Irish Insti-tute of Pharmacy will havethree pillars of activity:Leadership, Clinical Re-search and ProfessionalDevelopment. The Mis-sion of the Institute is to

ensure that pharmacists con-tinue to deliver high quality,

safe and effective professionalservices and moreover to providean evidence base for enhancedscope of practice. This enhancedscope of pharmacy practice willbenefit the patient through theprovision of accessible, qualityassured and affordable healthcare services.

Becoming a pharmacist atRCSI is popular with studentsfrom the Gulf region. They re-turn to the Gulf having acquireda highly coveted and portablequalification at world-class insti-tutions in a dynamic and excitingEuropean capital city.

There are scholarships avail-able from governments in theGulf region for students to pur-sue pharmacy in the Royal Col-lege of Surgeons in Ireland.

Further information on studying Pharmacy at the RoyalCollege of Surgeons in Ireland is available at www.rcsi.ie/admissions

RCSI Dubai graduates at the conferring ceremony

8

‘IRELAND IS A GREATPLACE TO STUDY’AHMED Al-Mazmi is a 23 year old finalyear student at the Royal College ofSurgeons in Ireland. He has nothingbut good things to say about thefive years he has spent at the col-lege in Ireland’s capital city, Dublin.“The facilities at the college are as-

tounding, and we are greatly helpedin learning by the lecturers who pro-vide much more materials and notescompared to some of the UK colleges. Westill have to work hard, but the RCSI is excellent in ensur-ing we learn.”Ahmed opted to study in Dublin because of the cos-

mopolitan nature of the country, and he has enjoyedmeeting people from many different cultures. “Irish people are very open, and the college is very

open too. My colleagues and I also agree that one of thegreat things about studying here in Ireland is that theHealth Education system is very well-established andwell-built.”Ahmed, who is from Sharjah and was at the Interna-

tional School of Choueifat, has found it helpful that thereare other Emirati students in RCSI and points out thatthis is a great help when homesickness sets in. Ahmed is now aged 23 and is coming to the end of his

time in Dublin. He hopes to continue his studies abroadbefore returning to the UAE. He has greatly enjoyed histime in Ireland, and living in a different part of Dublineach year ensured he saw a lot of that famous and his-toric city. He also took the time to travel outside the city and see

some of the beauties of Ireland. “I always recommendthe younger students get out and see places like Galway,Cork and Belfast. Ireland is such a beautiful country inthe summer time,” he added.

Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland School of Pharmacy set for expansion

CR2 is an innovative provider of self-service banking solutions including ATM, Internet, Mobile and Apps banking. CR2 has designed BankWorld to enable banks to meet their competing challenges of reducing costs, generating revenue and improving customer satisfaction. Over 110 banks across 60 countries have selected CR2 solutions. Headquartered in Dublin Ireland, CR2 has offices and representatives strategically located across 4 continents.

BankWorld, Bank on the future with today’s technology!Dublin l Dubai l Johannesburg l Perth l Bangalore l Moscow www.CR2.com

Personalising self-service banking

IRELAND’S business with the Gulfis booming. It is estimated that thetwo primary players, the United ArabEmirates and Saudi Arabia, will eachimport more than AED 4billion (ap-prox €840m) of Irish products andservices this year. “However, we seethis as only the tip of the iceberg”says Hugh Kelly, Vice President ofthe Irish Exporters Association andCEO of Associated Marketing Ltd(www.associatedmarketingltd.com).The Dublin based export accelera-tion company that has been helpingcompanies to export to the Gulf re-gion throughout much of its 43 yearsin business.

Associated Marketing has recentlyopened a new office in Dubai to actas the hub for its Irish clients in theGulf. Kelly says his recent investmentand confident prediction of futurerapid growth in Ireland-UAE trade isfirmly based: Ireland’s recent successis rooted in a careful examination ofthe real needs and aspirations ofbusinesses and consumers in theGulf.

Both governments, through theirEmbassies in Dublin and Abu Dhabiand organisations such as EnterpriseIreland and its UAE equivalents, havebeen highly supportive of public and

private network initiatives to multiplybusiness links. The Irish ExportersAssociation and the Arab IrishChamber of Commerce are also onhand to offer advice and expertise onIrish-UAE trade regulations. The twocountries have enjoyed long standingrelationships and friendships in theequine, aviation, medical and hospi-tality fields. More frequent, high levelgovernmental exchange visits, ex-panded services by Emirates Airlinesand Etihad and an ever-increasinggrowth in student, cultural and sport-

ing exchanges have all built success-fully on these strong foundations.

So, where are the opportunities forfurther Irish-UAE trade growth?Kelly points to food and drink as oneof the most visible answers: Ireland’squality reputation is already well re-flected in a growing presence on theshelves of top UAE supermarkets.“Less visible but significant too is thesurging growth in demand for med-ical and pharmaceutical products,computer equipment and IT-basedservices. In all of these areas, Ireland

is seen as a world leader. Economicdevelopment, aviation, financial serv-ices, specialist construction manage-ment services, education, renewableenergy and food security technologyare also areas where Ireland can con-tribute expertise to support Emiratiambitions”.

The two governments are activelyhelping and supporting Emirati andIrish business people to build theirlinks to mutual advantage. “Theirservices are invaluable” says Kelly,“but there is no substitute for fre-quent face-to-face meetings and, ide-ally, a presence on the ground in theUAE. There is always a limit to whatcan be achieved from a distance butwith committed engagement thetrade opportunity multiplies many-fold for those companies with realambitions to maximise the opportu-nities that the UAE market presents.”

Symbolic of the warmth and close-ness of the Emirati-Irish relationshipis the sponsorship by Dubai DutyFree of the Irish Derby Festival at theCurragh Racecourse on June 29th.Smiling, Hugh Kelly ends: “Let’shope we see as many Emirati friendsat the Curragh as there were Irish vis-itors at the Dubai World Cup at theMeydan course last month!”

Business relationships surge

Hugh Kelly, CEO Associated Marketing Ltd. and VP Irish ExportersAssociation; Minister of Economy UAE, H.E. Sultan Bin Saeed AlMansouri; and Jim Mongey, Director Associated Marketing Ltd.and Arab Irish Chamber of Commerce

9

ALTHOUGH Ire-land has a popula-tion of only4.5million it pro-duces enough

food to feed over 30m people,therefore exports are very impor-tant to the Irish food industry. In2012 the value of Irish food anddrink exports surpassed €9billionfor the first time, up €2billion on2009, according to Bord Bia, theIrish Food Board – the Irish gov-ernment agency responsible forpromoting the Irish food & horti-culture.

International Markets, includingthe Middle East, have being partic-ularly important in recent years,with exports outside of Europegrowing by 66% since 2009 tonearly €2.5billion. This strong ex-port performance by the Irish foodindustry anticipates continuedgrowth towards Ireland’s2020 target of €12billionin food and drink exports.

There is a solid platformon which to build, Irelandproduces over 10% of theworld’s infant formula andis the 4th largest net ex-porter of beef in the world. Irishmilk output is set to increase by50% to 8billion litres between 2015and 2020, so Irish dairy ingredientcompanies are well placed to meetincreased global demand and toprovide sustainable dairy solutionsto customers in the Middle East.

The growth of the Irish food anddrink industry is important to Ire-

land. The agri-food industry is Ire-land’s largest indigenous sector ac-counting for 8% of employmentand 10.8% of exports. Whilst Ire-land is a small island, as much astwo thirds of Ireland’s 6.9millionhectares is used for agriculture.

Rural Ireland is home to approxi-mately 139,900 farms, looked afterby generation after generation ofIrish family farmers. Irish farmersare custodians of the land, and inthe last decade alone there havebeing over 11,500 Nature Corri-dors established on Irish farmland.Thanks to Ireland’s temperate cli-mate as much as 92% of Ireland’s

farmland is grassland used for graz-ing all year round.

This mild climate and the plenti-ful rainfall it bestows ensure thatIreland’s water stress index isamongst the lowest in the world.Increasingly customers are seekingfood produced in a sustainablemanner, in a manner which recog-nises not just the needs of today,but those of generations to come.

In June 2012, Bord Bia launchedOrigin Green, a comprehensive na-tional sustainability programme forthe food and drink industry. Todayover 237 companies, accountingfor over 60% of Irish food anddrink exports are signed up to Ori-gin Green.

Origin Green is a unique sustain-ability development programmewhich demonstrates to our interna-tional customers the commitmentof Irish food and drink producers

to operating sustainably. Ireland is increasingly recognized

around the world for its high qual-ity meat, dairy and seafood prod-ucts.

Earlier this year Irish beef wasthe meat of choice at B’ocuse D’or,the international culinary competi-tion widely regarded as the'Olympics of the Culinary World',whilst in March Irish food festivalswere held around the world, includ-ing in the Middle East, to celebrateIreland’s national day, St PatricksDay.

Ireland’s food and drink exportsto the Middle East exceeded€310million last year and Irish sup-pliers of premium foods are re-porting increased demand fromhigh-end retailers and food servicecustomers in the region as moreconsumers discover the taste ofIreland.

More and more people havediscovered a taste of Ireland

The quality and freshness of Irish food is world renowned, with Irish beef winning prizes at this year’s “Culinary Olympics”

A still from Origin Green, a sustainability programme for the food and drink industry

10

Tell us a little about how your firm gotinvolved in DubaiWe have always been looking ahead trying tospot future opportunities and like many oth-ers saw Dubai as one of the up and comingleisure and commercial destinations in theworld, bridging both Europe and Asia. In theMiddle East if you travel 3,500 miles in anydirection, you have two thirds of the world’spopulation within your reach, this was some-thing we were keen to tap into!

We identified a market niche for a family-owned & operated luxury hotel in the Emi-rate and subsequently decided to open theBonnington Jumeirah Lakes Towers as amixed-use hotel and service residences devel-opment in the up and coming Jumeirah LakesTowers area in 2005. The free zones estab-lished by the government were a great incen-tive for us to set up business here and thiswas certainly one of the main contributingfactors in our decision.

Since starting operations in 2009, we havegone from strength to strength. We werelucky to be able to capitalise on our long his-tory of developing and running successfulhospitality ventures in Ireland and the UKand on our strong ties with the Irish commu-nity in the Middle East.

The Bonnington has quickly gained afabulous name – what is it about thehotel that is so special?What makes it different is that we are not aninternational brand and don’t have to climbup a corporate ladder to make a decision. Wealways try to get things done quickly and ef-ficiently- resolve the issue, make the call andmove onto the next!

The Bonnington is Dubai’s only Europeanfamily-owned and operated luxury hotel andas such I try to instill the same sense of fam-

ily within the team. This definitely encouragesa personal and caring approach when inter-acting with guests and customers. There is agenuine sense of community within thehotel, something which our guests can reallyrelate to and appreciate.

We want the guests living and staying at TheBonnington to experience excellent 5 starservice and hospitality and the team here arefully committed to providing this. We makeit a priority to ensure that every guest feelstruly welcome and comfortable from the mo-ment they arrive.

Your family are well-known in the hos-pitality industry at home – particularlyin terms of the music business. DoesThe Bonnington and McGettigan’s playa similar role there?Yes indeed it does, especially with regards toMcGettigan’s. We place a strong emphasisand importance on providing the best in livemusic and entertainment at our venues. Pro-ducing successful music and comedy gigs area key element of the brand and are a vital partof the electric atmosphere we want ourguests to enjoy. Pubs in Ireland are renownedfor lively entertainment and music and weaim to expand this legacy and reputationacross our venues in the Middle East.

The ‘pub’ is a very Irish way to spend a

night out – how did you manage to sellthat to a region where such entertain-ment is not part of the culture.We always put a strong focus on the funda-mental elements of ‘a great time out’, i.e.friendly, personalized service, fantastic food,and captivating entertainment. By doing thiswe have successfully managed to positionMcGettigan’s at the centre of the city’s multi-cultural entertainment scene.

Our bars portray a modern image of Irelandwith clean, bright, and welcoming spaces lo-cated at the heart of their local communities– we believe that these are all values that cantranslate well to any new market place. Thisethic and approach has to date paid off withMcGettigan’s having recently won Best Pub atthis year’s Time Out Dubai Music & NightlifeAwards, of which we are extremely proud.

When talking about Ireland to someonein the UAE who intends to travel there,what do you recommend they visit?Well I’m a big fan of Dublin it being where Igrew up and I would always recommend vis-itors spend at least a few nights of their stayin the city! There are some great restaurantsand bars of course and also a rich culturaland historical heritage to explore.

You can’t beat a wander around Temple Baron a nice evening and a visit to Dublin Zoois always a great day out!

Irish family hospitalityfinds a market in DubaiDennis McGettigan’s family are a legend in the Irish pub and hotel business. Heexplains why they came to UAE with the stunning Bonnington’s Hotel complex

Left, Dennis McGettigan, and the Bonnington, the stunning five-star hotel in Dubai

McGettigan’s Irish Bar, a fabulous nightspot with an ‘electric atmosphere’

11

COLM McLoughlin’s story is one ofthe greatest ever told in the history ofinternational business. Sent by theIrish airport authority to help set upDubai Duty Free in 1983 on a six-

month posting, Colm never came home.“I remember arriving at Dubai International Air-

port in July and the heat that hit me as I disembarkedthe plane”, recalls Colm. “Coming from Ireland, Ihad never experienced heat of that intensity. Therewas something distinctly exciting about Dubai evenat that time; I like to think it was the sense that any-thing is possible and I think that feeling still perme-ates Dubai and is particularly strong within theaviation business.

“I came with a group of colleagues from Aer Ri-anta. Our assignment was to establish a world classduty free operation in Dubai International Airport.We had six months to set everything up.

“In the early ’80s Dubai was already set on an ex-pansionary path that had seen the laying of its foun-dations; the first five star hotels had opened, thegovernment had invested in heavy industries in orderto diversify its oil-based economy, and several world-class ports were operating.

“Attention was turning to the airport, which wasunder the leadership of H.H. Sheikh Mohammedbin Rashid Al Maktoum, the then Minister of De-fence and our current Vice President, and PrimeMinister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. The am-bitions of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed were clear andwhen our initial plans for the duty free operationwere presented by the then Director General, Mohi-din Bin Hendi, Sheikh Mohammed agreed to thedesign but wanted us to double its size.

“With just six months to hand over a fully opera-tional duty free, time was of the essence and every-one worked around the clock. I am proud to say thatof the original 100 staff employed for the opening,we still have 48 in active service.

“We opened for business on 20 Decem-ber 1983 and our first day’s sales wereDhs160,000, which was quite promising.In our first full year (1984), our salesreached Dhs70 million ($20m), whichwas a terrific result by any measure.

“As the contract came to an end, I wasasked to stay on and head up the duty free,and John Sutcliffe and George Horan also stayed.

“We never regretted our decision to stay on as weknew that we had a great opportunity to grow thebusiness and receive the full support of the Govern-ment and in particular my own boss, H.H. SheikhAhmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of DubaiCivil Aviation Authority and Chairman of DubaiDuty Free.

“Today, Dubai Duty Free has grown to becomeone of the largest airport retailers in the world interms of turnover with sales of US$1.6bn in 2012.

“Employing 5,700 people, Dubai Duty Free iswidely regarded for having set the benchmark for

the duty free industry in the region. Its founding prin-ciple of offering international travellers a wide rangeof quality merchandise, value for money and a first-class retail experience in a shopper-friendly environ-ment holds true to this day.”

In the 30 years Colm has spent in Dubai, the emi-rate has changed enormously and he is delighted thatDubai Duty Free has played a part in that progressand through its commercial success and marketingprowess, has helped to put Dubai on the map. “I amvery proud to have been here to see the emergenceof Dubai and the UAE as a global player. The Gov-ernment has done, and continue to do, a fantastic jobin investing in the infrastructure of the country andhelping it attain this position.

“My own boss, HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed AlMaktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Au-thority and Chairman of Dubai Duty Free, has beena fantastic supporter of the operation and has always

been open to any proposals. “I love living and working in Dubai.

There is a great sense of community,although it is rapidly growing. Thereis a great sense of achievement inyour working life and a lot to do inyour free time.”Now, after almost three decades

here, Mr McLoughlin, a native of Bal-linasloe, Co Galway on Ireland’s west coast,

has a great love of his adopted country, as well as theland of his birth. “I retain my roots and am veryproud of being Irish, but Dubai is my second homeand I love it here, as does my wife Breeda, who isfrom Co Clare. My son Niall also lives and workshere and has had great opportunities here.

“The great thing about Dubai is that so many dif-ferent nationalities live together in peace and har-mony and that is a real credit to the Government ofthe UAE. I was the first non Arab to receive theGovernment Excellence Award in 2000 and wasvery honoured to accept that from H.H. Sheikh Mo-

hammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice Presidentand Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.Coincidentally in the same year I was named in theAIB-Rehab Galway Millennium Awards as Man ofthe Year which recognised people who have madean outstanding contribution to the community inGalway city, county or abroad.”

The rain-swept grasslands of east Galway are nolonger home for Colm McLoughlin, and when askedwhat is the biggest of all the changes he has seen inthe UAE, he replies “I’m tempted to say Dubai DutyFree!”

He went on: “Nearly 30 years ago when I camehere there was about 200,000 people living here –there’s now 2million.

“There was 3.5million passengers annually goingthrough the airport – there’s now 56million.

“There was no such thing as Emirates Airlines,which is now one of the biggest in the world andwithout doubt a fantastic airline.

“There was no Burj Khalifa no Palm island, nometro, very few hotels.”

“In January we saw the opening of Concourse A,which is the first ever concourse dedicated to Emi-rates Airline A380 fleet.

“Concourse D is expected to be completed withina couple of years, bringing the capacity here at DubaiInternational Airport to 95 million. Meanwhile, thepassenger terminal at Dubai World Central will openat the end of this year, heralding a new era in aviationin the UAE

“All that means our business, which occupies26,000 square metres at the moment, will continueto grow in tandem with the developments.”

A busy first quarter of 2013 has seen Dubai DutyFree sales reach Dhs1.6bn ($438m), a 12% rise overthe same period last year and signalling an excellentprospect for the 30th year of business.

Colm sees great potential for tourism to and fromIreland and the UAE. “A few good things have hap-pened – Ireland opened an embassy here, and theUAE dedicated an ambassador to Dublin which hadpreviously been shared with London.

“Emirates has launched a very successful dailyflight from Dublin to Dubai, while Etihad are up to10 flights a week.

“There’s a lot happening with tourism both waysand that will continue to increase.”

Although Dubai Duty Free is 100% owned by thegovernment of Dubai, the Irish connection is evi-dent and its support for many Irish-related projectsboth in the UAE and in Ireland, including the DubaiDuty Free Irish Derby, is testament to this.

“We have 5,000 people working in Dubai DutyFree and my Deputy, George Horan, now Presidentof Dubai Duty Free, is Irish, as are marketing headSinéad El Sibai, head of Finance Bernard Creed, andhead of Operations, Seán Staunton.

“We have the Irish village pub and there are 20Irish people working there. all these things added to-gether make a nice mix.”

From Ireland he came,the1.6billiondollarmanColm McLoughlin is perhaps the best known Irishman in the UAE, having been at thehelm of Dubai Duty Free for more than three decades as it grew to a $1.6bn business

Colm McLoughlin arrived in July 1983

12

The Chester Beatty Library holds many beautiful treasures of Islamic and Eastern Art

13

SIR Alfred Chester Beatty,one of the greatest finan-cial entrepreneurs of the20th century, is today bestremembered as the

founder of the Chester Beatty Li-brary in Dublin. This world-renowned institution is both an artmuseum and library exhibiting anunparalleled collection of manu-scripts, miniature paintings, prints,rare books and decorative arts fromcountries across Asia, the MiddleEast, North Africa and Europe.

Beatty was an American miningmagnate and one of the most pro-lific collectors of the 20th century.His vast collection of over 30,000items includes representative sam-ples of the world’s artistic and reli-gious heritage from about 2700 BCto the present century.

An avid collector of minerals,since childhood, as an adult Beattybegan to collect more widely, buyingEuropean and Persian manuscripts.His interests found a new directionwhen, in 1914, he visited Egypt andbought some decorated copies ofthe Qur'an in the bazaars.

A journey to Asia in 1917 addedJapanese and Chinese paintings tohis interests. His eye was drawn torichly illustrated material, fine bind-ings and beautiful calligraphy, but hewas also deeply committed to pre-serving texts for their historic value.

In 1950, he decided to move toIreland and built a library for his artcollection which opened in 1954. In1957 Chester Beatty became Ire-

land's first honorary citizen and wasaccorded a State funeral upon hisdeath in 1968, the only civilian inIreland ever to have earned this ho-nour.

He bequeathed his entire collec-tion to a trust for the benefit of thepublic and today the legacy of thisunique and unparalleled collectorthrives in the historic city centre set-ting of Dublin Castle.

The Library welcomes over aquarter of a million visitors everyyear to view its exhibitions. Visitorsare often surprised and delighted tofind such a unique and rare collec-tion on view in Dublin and LonelyPlanet has described the Library as‘not just the best museum in Irelandbut one of the best in Europe.’

The Arts of the Book exhibitionincludes almost 600 objects - booksfrom the ancient world, includingthe world famous Chester BeattyLove Poems (c.1160 BC), EgyptianBooks of the Dead and beautifullyilluminated European manuscripts.One of the highlights is the displayof Western book-bindings (5th-20th century) and Old Masterprints. The exhibition also exploresthe richness of the Islamic manu-script tradition including illustra-tions and illuminations, calligraphy,and exquisite bindings from acrossthe Middle East and India. High-lights from East Asia include Japan-ese picture-scrolls depicting fablesand legends, and deluxe woodblockprints. Audio-visual programmes

complement the exhibition, helpingthe visitor to learn more about thearts of the book all over the world.

The Sacred Traditions gallery ex-hibits sacred texts, illuminated man-uscripts and miniature paintingsfrom the great religions and systemsof belief represented in the collec-tions –Christianity, Islam and Bud-dhism with smaller displays onConfucianism, Daoism, Sikhismand Jainism. The Biblical Papyri, theremarkable collection of Qur’anmanuscripts and scrolls and booksof Buddhist thought provide thefocus for the displays, which are en-hanced with audio-visual pro-grammes on Rites of Passage inmany faiths, prayer and pilgrimage.

An exhibition featuring a selectionof 30 paintings that once belongedto Beatty is also currently on display.On loan from the National Gallery,Chester Beatty: the Paintings, whichincludes masterpieces such as Bre-ton’s The Gleaners will be on dis-play until 31 August.

This exhibition is an opportunityto appreciate the collecting activitiesof one man ranging from Egyptianpapyrus texts to French landscapepaintings and to celebrate ChesterBeatty’s generosity to Ireland.

Admission to all of the Library’sexhibitions is free and regular work-shops, lectures and tours are held.Chester Beatty LibraryDublin Castle, Dublin 2Tel: + 353 (1) 4070750info@cbl.iewww.cbl.ie

Dublin is hometo a remarkablecollection of art

Top of page: Illuminated heading for Chapter 32 of Qur'an 9thcentury, Middle East, possibly Iraq; Top right: Muhammad andHis Army March Against the Meccans, 1594-95, Istanbul,Turkey; Below: Begum Samru's Household, c. 1820, Delhi, India

CR2 brings banking technologyinnovation to the wider world

Siobhan Kilalea has brought the ancient art of Irish Dancing to the UAE

CR2, one of the most interestingstories to emerge from the Irishsoftware industry, has experi-enced success in over 60 coun-tries, including the Middle East.CR2, a leading provider of ATM,internet and mobile banking so-lutions, has grown rapidly overthe years thanks to its distinctiveand innovative integrated self-service platform.

Initially CR2 launched an ATMsolution and subsequently ap-plied its self-service banking ex-pertise to the Internet andmobile banking channels to de-velop their BankWorld solution.Today, the company proudlyserves over 100 clients acrossfour continents and has 160 stafflocated in development centresin Dublin and Perth and numer-

ous strategically located supportand commercial offices, enablingthem to always be close to theircustomers.

Mr Martin Dolan, CEO ofCR2, commented, “The successof CR2 is the result of our com-mitment to innovation in self-service. CR2 has always believedthat self-service was the way for-ward – we are the only vendorworldwide to focus exclusivelyon the full range of self service;ATM, Kiosk, Internet and Mo-bile.

“Less and less people are visit-ing the physical branch so we setout to tackle the problem of howbanks can service and sell to theircustomers as face-to-face inter-action declines. We enable banksto successfully engage their cus-

tomers with a customised userexperience whether it is at theATM, on the internet or mobilephone.

“Mobile has become a criticalself-service device which CR2has fully embraced, enabling

banks deliver a very rich capabil-ity to smartphones or tabletswithout the need to recreate thatfunctionality for these devices oroperating systems.

“This reduces time to marketand reduces the cost to servewhile making the service avail-able 24X7.

“Too many mobile solutionstoday are a subset of the capabil-ity provided on internet banking.The sale of mobile phones in2010 out sold the total numberof PC’s ever sold – it is clear thatmobile will fast become thedominant customer transactionplatform, it is therefore criticalthat it provides a rich customerexperience and is part of an in-tegrated self-service platformrather than a poor add on.”

Martin Dolan, chief ex-ecutive officer of CR2

Riverdancing in the Creek!SIOBHAN Kilalea has been living in the UAEfor 28 years and in the Middle East 30 years al-together.

“My husband Donal was offered a job in anad agency in Bahrain and as we wanted to travelwe decided we would go. Of course we only in-tended to stay a couple of years then head offelsewhere! Travel the world.

“After two years he was offered the job or run-ning the Dubai office, so down we came , andhere we still are.

“When I started teaching Irish Dancing it wasat the request of a few Irish friends here whowanted to keep their children in touch with theirroots. Having just had the first of our threedaughters I thought I'd give it a whirl for awhile.”

It wasn't long before the class started to grow,not only with Irish children, but with childrenfrom all over the world. “Then along cameRiverdance and everyone wanted to be able to

do 29 taps a second ! And that was after theirfirst class.....”

That was a long time ago, now the childrenhave all sorts of activities to remind them ofhome. Apart from the Irish dancing there areIrish language classes available and there is also

a huge interest inGaelic games.There are a fewIrish young peo-ple training thechildren in foot-ball and hurling.

“The localcommunity loveto see the children

dancing. We have danced at various eventsaround Dubai and Abu Dhabi where the Emi-rati people present have clapped and tappedalong enthusiastically!

“The most recent event we danced at over thePaddy's weekend was one we were invited to bythe Irish Embassy in Abu Dhabi. We had greatsupport from all the ambassadors present.

“There is great interest in Ireland amongstEmiratis, I think in many ways our cultures arequite similar.

“I always recommend the Viking Tour inDublin City, Trinity College, Christchurch, toname but a few. Then of course there are thebeautiful Lakes of Killarney, The Giants Cause-way, The Titanic Exhibition.”

Classes are held in the Bal-let Centre Jumeirah onSundays and Mondays, atThe Lakes Club on Tues-days and at The HayyaClub at the Springs on

Wednesdays. Childrenfrom the age of four years,boys and girls are wel-come. Contact: Siobhansiobhankilalea@hotmail.com

IRISH DANCE CLASSES IN DUBAI

14

15