As the nightmare that was the global recession starts to fade, we can look forward to celebrating life’s little treats again. Many business owners are reporting a slow but steady uptake in business. The Irish Government is reporting 1200 jobs a week are being created in 2014 as opposed to 1600 a week being lost during the recession. Forbes have named Ireland as the best place in the world to do business and Unicef have stated that Ireland is in the top 10 best places for children to live. It’s a great day to be Irish.
We’ve compiled 10 Reasons for business owners and entrepreneurs to celebrate being Irish. There are so many inspirational people, horses, writers, small businesses and large companies that it was difficult to choose a mere 10 reasons but we hope they inspire you too.
One – Our Irish American cousins
How is it possible that a tiny little island shaped like a teddy bear, located on the edge of Europe and 3622 miles from America, has cast a spell over the world? According to the American census in 2008 36.3 million Americans (11.9% of the total population) claim Irish descent. Looking back through the history books we were amazed to discover that Ireland has some outstanding exports in the form of her people.
Two – our 14 Oscar winners, 24 Olympic Medalists and 9 Nobel Laureates
We can claim 14 Oscar winners including Daniel Day Lewis, George Bernard Shaw, Cedric Gibbons, Barry Fitzgerald, Jose Mcavin, Michele Burke, Neil Jordan, Brenda Fricker, Peter O’Toole, Corinne Marrinan, Martin McDonagh, Glen Hansard, Richard Baneham, Terry and Oorlath George. We also have 24 Olympic Medalists and 9 Nobel Laureates.
Three – our 1000 International Companies who are based here
There are over One Thousand international companies who have placed their European headquarters in Ireland.
Four – our Scientific Research
According to Thomson Reuters Ireland is in the global Top 20 for our scientific research.
Five – our Heritage Sites
We have heritage sites like Newgrange that are older than some countries!
Six – our history of Irish American Presidents
18 American Presidents are of Irish Descent including Barack OBama, Ronald Regan, Richard Nixon, John F Kennedy, James knox Polk, Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S Grant, Chester A Arthur, 
Benjamin Harris, Grover Cleveland, Theodore Roosevelt, William McKinley, George H.W. Bush, Jimmy Carter, Woodroe Wilson, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush.
Seven – 8 of the worlds top 10 IT companies are based here
Eight of the worlds’ top 10 IT related companies are based in Ireland including Intel, IBM, Google, Dell, Apple, Paypal, Linked In, Facebook.
Eight – Nine of the worlds top 10 Pharmaceutical companies live here
Nine of the worlds top 10 Pharmaceutical companies are based in Ireland. Medtronic, Pfizer, Abbot International, Boston Scientific to name but a few.
Nine – our world famous horses
Because of our temperate weather and limestone soil Ireland has been home to some of the most famous horses in history including Sea the Stars, Sun Chariot, Shergar, War of Attrition, Arkle and Vintage Crop.
Ten – our writers
Irish genes flowed through some of the most famous writers in history including James Joyce, Brendan Behan, Oscar Wilde, Samuel Beckett, Anne Enright, Maeve Binchy, Bram Stoker.
Let us know your favourite reason to be happy on St Patricks Day.
