Findings—the Legislature finds that:
Over 15 percent of West Virginia’s population is of Irish descent, which, according to the Irish diplomat Barbara Jones, represents a higher figure than that in Boston or New York City;
The ties that bind Ireland to West Virginia are deep and lasting, reflected on West Virginia’s map from Ireland to Irish Mountain, from Tyrone to Tralee; and
Irish heritage has been the fortunate lot of many great West Virginians, such as philanthropist Bernard P. McDonough, the inventor Michael Owens, and US Senator John Kenna;
Ireland and West Virginia are attempting to reinvent their economies for success in the twenty-first century; and
West Virginians have both historic and practical reasons to desire the building of firmer commercial links with Ireland.