US Vice-President Mr Dick Cheney's warning of the "almost certainty" of another al-Qaeda attack on American soil struck a particular chord in the home of his maternal ancestors.
In the 1920s, when Mr Cheney's grandmother, Ms Kate O'Brien, a farmer's help, left her native Killorglin for the US, the main industry in Co Kerry was agriculture, and the main employers were farmers.
Fortunes have changed, and tourism is now the biggest employer with at least 10,000 employed in the industry as against 8,000 in forestry, agriculture and fishing together.
Tourism is also the biggest earner - it actually props up farm income in farmhouse and self-catering farm holidays.
Annual earnings in Cork/Kerry are just under €1 billion, it is estimated. Some three million visitors come to the Cork/Kerry region - with perhaps a million more to the north Kerry area.
According to Mr Con O'Conaill, the chief executive of Cork/Kerry tourism, who is stepping down after 30 years with the company, last year was was not as bad as anticipated and this year is in fact "reasonably good".
Preliminary figures for 2001 show the much dreaded American downturn has not materialised to the extent expected.
There is an estimated overall 11 per cent drop in numbers to the region, with the US market down around 17 per cent from figures garnered from places such as tourist gift shops.
The 20 per cent cut by airlines in the number of transatlantic seats is proving as much a deterrent as fears for safety among American travellers after the September 11th attacks.
This difficulty in getting to Ireland - and now Mr Cheney's warning - are causing much anxiety in the south-west, although there have been compensatory factors for both the foot-and-mouth and September 11th.
Preliminary returns for Cork and Kerry for last year also show that while the numbers of visitors are down, domestic visitors coming into the region are spending almost as much because they are staying longer.
Now, more than one-third of all long domestic holidays are spent in Cork and Kerry. And the domestic visitor accounts for around 45 per cent of tourists to destinations such as Killarney.
Access, even apart from the temporary transatlantic hiccup, has long proved an enormous obstacle. But a new superferry on the Cork-Swansea route is to be welcomed as it will provide year-round access for the British tourist who still considers Ireland as a shortbreak destination.
Aer Arann's flights to the UK from Cork are also good news.
Reduction by Ryanair in their flights on the London-Kerry route is a bit of a blow, however.
In Killarney, the capital of tourism in the south-west, the coach market and midweek market are down, with the weekends doing good business, Mr Declan Murphy, South Kerry Tourism officer, explained.
Americans are still trying to come and whereas traditionally they book a year or more in advance, this season the lead time is down to around four weeks.
Niche markets too are proving hugely successful. The Cork/Kerry area has a third of all of Ireland's developed walking routes. Rather than scattering the marketing drive like a blunderbuss everywhere, the more targeted approach at golf, walkers, language students and anglers and so on is paying dividends for Killarney and elsewhere.
This year, for instance, groups from Denmark, Norway and Sweden have arrived in some numbers to play golf.
"The home market is vital. This and the British market has saved us after foot-and-mouth and September 11th," Mr Murphy said.
Cork and Kerry, however, cannot rely forever on a sense of patriotism - good value breaks and keen marketing will keep the region in front.
Strangely, the change to the euro has not helped and may in fact have hindered.
It has not helped attract the key British visitor. With good value against the euro, the whole of the euro zone is attractive for British travellers, Mr Murphy points out. If the UK switches currency, then tourism Ireland will reap the benefits, he said.The numbers of Germans are down as their economy slows, so the introduction of the euro to this important market is not of huge advantage this year.
As he leaves office Mr Con O'Conaill has presided over a self-financing marketing organisation for the region with brand new tourist information offices in key venues such as Killarney, for instance.
There are still challenges for the industry in the south-west. The rate valuation system in local authorities, based on size of property, needs to be tackled, it is widely felt. There are other issues, such as the split in marketing where Shannon Development takes care of the north of the county and Cork/Kerry the south, which need to be addressed.