An initiative to promote tourism in Ely O'Carroll country - a small area covering North Tipperary and Offaly - was officially launched with the signing of a "Friendship Alliance" at Baltimore International Airport yesterday.
The Friendship Alliance, presented to an Irish delegation by officials from Anne Arundel County, Baltimore, and Annapolis cities, is expected to establish stronger tourism, industrial, educational, historical and cult ural links between Ely O'Carroll country and the state of Maryland.
It is hoped the official relationship will increase tourism between Baltimore and Ireland. Aer Lingus now operates direct flights from Baltimore to Shannon and Dublin.
The signing of the Friendship Alliance is the culmination of over two years of planning.
Mrs Tracey Coughlan of Ely O'Carroll Tourism said the "treaty" recognises the many opportunities for co-operation between the two communities.
Over the next 18 months, "we hope to see developments and exchanges not only in tourism, but also in the areas of culture, education, economic development and technology", Ms Coughlan said.
The event is being mooted as a significant step forward in the branding of Ely O'Carroll country for the tourist market in the US. It is also hoped that historical and cultural benefits marked through the treaty will help provide a forum for future cultural exchange and understanding.
Educational Links are also to be developed. Investigations have been undertaken by Maryland's State Supervisor for Education into the opportunities for joint projects to be undertaken by Irish and American schools.
Industrial links have not yet been explored. However, Ely O'Carroll management, which views Annapolis, Maryland, as the designated centre for technological development primarily in relation to the Internet, "feel confident that linkages leading to an international sharing of knowledge would prove very beneficial to those in industry especially in relation to the area of technology".
The connections between Maryland and Ely O'Carroll country stretch back to the 17th century, when Charles Carroll, a prominent landowner in the Ely O'Carroll region, was forced to leave Ireland after his estates were confiscated to make way for plantations. Carroll then moved to the USA and rebuilt his empire in Maryland.
Among his distinguished descendants was a signatory to the Declaration of Independence, another Charles Carroll, and the first Catholic Bishop ordained in America and founder of Georgetown University, Bishop John Carroll.
Ely O'Carroll country, where the Carroll family originated, covers a vast stretch of the midlands from the River Shannon to the Slieve Bloom Mountains.
The area includes many historic houses and monastic ruins, including Clonmacnoise and Clonfert Abbey, and there are some 40 castles associated with the O'Carroll dynasty.