Not quite, but a step has been taken to make Ireland more like a little corner of America.
Starting today, travelers embarking from Shannon Airport can be cleared through U.S. Customs, and when they arrive for the family reunion in Boston, there's nothing to declare.
Just as if one has arrived from Montana or Oregon, the folks who reach an American airport will not find the long lines of inspectors asking questions and checking documents.
It's all done to encourage more Irish tourism to the U.S., with the promise of no waiting and moving straight to baggage claim and the arms of waiting loved ones.
Maria Kelly of the Limerick Chamber of Commerce sees a bigger benefit. Corporate executives who travel to the west of Ireland to do business won't have to put up with all the fuss of Customs when they get back home to the States. Should they choose to do business in Poland, they'll be facing the inspectors after a long flight when they'd rather be at home with a cocktail.
Even if a traveler hasn't been to Ireland, they might still wish to stop over at Shannon to get the whole Customs business done with. Anything that will increase traffic at Shannon is all to the good for the Irish economy, and for those Irish people in need of work.
The new facility at Shannon is the first of its kind in all of Europe. And doesn't that prove just how special Ireland is.
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