[caption id="attachment_71693" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="John Wayne made it to Ireland, now the push is on to lure many more Scots Irish for "The Gathering.""]
Tourism authorities and the governments in Dublin and Belfast are staking high hopes in "The Gathering," the year long series of events in 2013 intended to significantly boost the tourism business on the island.
North Deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness, is of the view that a true gathering will not occur unless it includes the Scots Irish.
The call came against the backdrop of some skepticism among unionist politicians concerning "The Gathering."
The Irish Independent reported that "some unionists have rejected calls for the Dublin government-backed 'The Gathering' to be promoted by the Northern Ireland Executive, claiming it was too green and relied too heavily on images of leprechauns and donkeys."
But Mr. McGuinness told the Assembly that the 2013 initiative should be considered by Executive ministers as long as it reflected all traditions.
"If there was some opportunity to expand the whole concept of the Gathering in a way that would see the Ulster Scots people of North America included for example, and indeed many others in different parts of the world, be it in Australia, Canada or elsewhere, I think that's something that's absolutely worthy of consideration," he said.
"I think what we have to do is recognize that whenever this project was first mooted I think it is understandable that there may have been some concern among some of our colleagues in this Assembly about how that would be used."
McGuinness, according to the report, was briefing the Assembly about last month's North South Ministerial Council meeting with counterparts from Dublin. The SDLP's Colum Eastwood had asked Mr. McGuinness if he would fully engage with Dublin on the Gathering.
McGuinness responded it was "hugely important" to gain mutual benefit out of tourist initiatives.
"I like to approach these things in a way that sees us gain mutual benefit for all of us but to do it in a way that everybody's comfortable with," he said.
"And I think if we were to consider the prospect that the whole concept of the Gathering could be expanded then of course this is something I would have to discuss with ministerial colleagues and seek their support for, and if that could be done in a way that's inclusive, that everybody is comfortable with, then I think it's certainly worthy of consideration."
