President on the move

The President, Mrs McAleese, is paying a State visit to Finland in May. She is also going to Estonia, on the same trip, and to Slovenia for two days in June. Next month, she visits Texas for an Irish arts festival in Houston, to address a local university and to host a reception for the Irish community in Dallas. Estonia and Slovenia are two of the EU applicant countries which are anxious to learn as much as they can about the workings of the community and see the Republic as a model of how good things can be. The President isn't the only one receiving invitations to visit; politicians at many levels are getting them too.