Recent political events in the North might have thrown the question of official cross-Border contacts between the two governments into disarray, but not everything has ground to a halt.
Participants in the Cork/Fermanagh Women Entrepreneurs' Programme will meet towards the end of the month in Galway as part of a project by Co-operation Ireland under its economic co-operation programme to further cross-Border contacts.
The pilot programme involves 20 businesswomen from Cork and 20 from the Fermanagh region. The idea is to create a climate for the exchange of business ideas among the women and perhaps the development of cross-Border trade.
A B&B proprietor from Cork, for instance, will be matched with one from Fermanagh. During their meeting in Galway, they will be able to discuss how their business is developing and how they might be of mutual benefit to each other.
Ms Marie Desmond from Cork has been running a market research business for nearly a year and is looking forward to meeting a Fermanagh-based market researcher. "I heard of the programme through my association with Co-operation North and I was asked to participate," she says. "If it was just a case of women's groups holding a meeting, I doubt if I would be going. In Cork, you don't get too many opportunities to meet other women who are in the same line of business, so I'm looking forward to it. I think it could be useful for both sides," Ms Desmond says.