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Though the latest Irish Stew guest is Aileesh Carew, CEO and Museum Director of Dublin’s EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum, this interview takes place in Philadelphia, upstairs again at Fergie’s Pub. Both Aileesh and cohost John Lee came to the “City of Brotherly Love” for the Irish American Business Chamber and Network’s Ambassador’s Awards where Aileesh would accept the Uachtarán Award for EPIC as an organization that has shown exemplary leadership in philanthropic contributions of time and talent to non-profits in Ireland.

"We are so honored to be recognized by the Irish American Business Chamber and Network, an organization that really understands and deeply cares about the Irish community, the links and the legacy,” she says.

The award comes at an especially meaningful time for EPIC.

“To receive the award and be recognized in our 10th anniversary year is very special to us,” says Aileesh, who has been with EPIC almost every step of the way. “EPIC’s purpose really is to tell the impact of the Irish around the world. Over 70 million people claim Irish heritage and we can chart at EPIC 1,500 years of immigration. It's the legacy of what the Irish people have achieved around the world."

Philadelphia was an important destination for Irish emigres and many played key roles in the birth of the American republic.

"John Dunlap was the printer of the Declaration of Independence. He was born in Bann in County Tyrone. He immigrated to Philadelphia as a boy and built one of the city's most influential printing businesses. He actually printed the Declaration working through the night on July 4th, 1776, and went on to print the first 200 copies of the Declaration of Independence."

Over its ten-year history, the interactive EPIC experience rose quickly in the ranks of not only Irish but European destinations, awarded Europe's Leading Tourist Attraction three years in a row.

Take that Eiffel Tower!

But rather than counting their laurels, Aileesh and her team are charting the course for the next ten years.

She says, "If you stand still, you go backwards, so we’ve embarked on a 10-year master plan. We're about to unveil three brand new galleries including “Isle of the Senses”f that will chart and evoke the Ireland the people left behind, what people take with them in the smell, the touch, the sense, and in their hearts.”

This is Irish Stew’s second EPIC episode having featured its first director, John Patrick Greene, for episode that dropped in 2022.

Next week Irish Stew shares the buzz around the Capital Irish Film Festival in conversations with the great cinema talent at the annual Solas Nua event.

Links

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EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum

• Website (https://epicchq.com/)
• LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/epic-ireland-chq-ltd)
• Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/epicmuseumchq/)
• Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/epicmuseumchq/)

Aileesh Carew

• LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/aileesh-carew-838575/)

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• Media Partner: IrishCentral (https://www.irishcentral.com)

Episode Details: Season 8, Episode 14; Total Episode Count: 155