GERTRUDE BYRNE PROMOTIONS, LLC
BOCA RATON, FLORIDA

Gertrude Byrne Promotions was founded over 30 years ago by Gertrude Byrne, a native of Cong Co. Mayo. Gertrude Byrne Promotions, based in Leeds, New York has been responsible for organizing some of the best Irish cultural and music events in the New York area and on the high seas, including, the Annual Leeds Irish Festival, A Day in Old Ireland held at Yonkers Raceway, The Irish Christmas Musical Fair at the Meadowlands Area, The Medieval Irish Festival at the Garden State Exhibit Center, The #1 Irish Weekend at the Nevele Grand Hotel and of course the All-Star Irish Charter Cruise to the Caribbean and now the All Star Irish Charter cruise to the Mediterranean. Gertrude Byrne, a native of Cong, Co. Mayo arrived in the U.S. in the late 1960’s to be with her now-husband John, whom she met while working in Dublin. Together with two friends, John decided to make the move to New York for better opportunities and promised that as soon as he had enough money he would send for her. (His friends made similar pledges to their ladies.) Six months later the tickets arrived in the mail and Gertrude and her two friends where on their way to New York. Upon arriving in New York Gertrude worked as a secretary for a computer software company in Manhattan where she held secretarial and managerial positions. Living and working in the Catskills soon beckoned for Gertrude, John and their three children. John owns the popular Inn at Leeds Bar and Restaurant. Gertrude, now a Leeds based entrepreneur, has made it her business to keep Irish music and culture alive, through the events she hosts on an annual basis. Gertrude was the proud recipient of the “Irish Business Woman of the Year Award" in 2001 - a tremendous award bestowed on her by the Irish Voice Newspaper. Suzanne is Gertrude’s daughter and the eldest of her three children. Suzanne joined her Mom at Gertrude Byrne Promotions in 2006.  Previously, Suzanne worked in the financial services industry.  She spent over 8 years with Instinet, where she held positions in technology, trading and sales. Suzanne holds a degree from UCD in Dublin and an MBA from Union College in Schenectady, New York. Mary Darcy is without a doubt one of Ireland’s most experienced and best loved entertainers. Mary has been performing, recording and appearing on television all over the world for many years. She turned professional at the early age of 15 and along with her partner, Eamonn McRory, formed Twos Company and enjoyed 26 years of success. Despite the demise of Twos Company and the death of her husband Des Wilson at the age of 47, Mary refused to give up. With the help of her two brothers Eamonn and Sean, Mary formed her own band and continues to do what she loves best. Mary now has a new interest as the agent for Ireland and the UK for two of the biggest All Star Irish Cruises to the Caribbean and the Mediterranean in association with her long time friend, Gertrude Byrne. We want to 'thank you' for a wonderful cruise. We continue to talk about our wonderful trip and especially the entertainment. We rave over how well it went. I can hardly wait until we decide when to go again. It was my very first cruise so I had a lot of special experiences. Everything went like clockwork! We enjoyed it very much! Thank you so much for all the good planning that is a credit to you and your company. Do keep us updated on coming events. It all began for me from that cruise so many years ago, with 80 passengers to chartering entire ships. I continued to promote an Irish theme cruise on an annual basis. I gained a vast amount of knowledge along the way on how to improve the cruising experience. However I remain steadfast to my own theory “simply envision the type of quality and service that I would expect and don’t offer anything less to my customers”. My philosophy is to offer my guests the 5-star experience from the moment they step on the pier for embarkation. The mood is set, each guest is personally greeted, followed by a champagne reception and of course some welcome Irish music. It is heartwarming to watch the smiling faces and joyous emotions exhibited as each guest is ready to board the ship for the cruise of a lifetime. I now charter Holland America’s vista class ships annually catering up to 2000 + passengers. Most of my business comes from “word of mouth” and passengers hail from all over the world. I am truly blessed and have to thank all of my guests who sailed with me over the past thirty years. Due to popular demand I have changed the itinerary for 2019 to Alaska. This will be the first voyage there and look forward to our guests having a wonderful experience. GERTRUDE BYRNE PROMOTIONS Thank You Gertrude for another wonderful cruise. This was our 7th and we would not consider any other cruise. From the check in at the Terminal to the last night everything was fantastic. We are booked for next year. Thank You you do a great job. We will continue to tell people in Vancouver how good it is.