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Taoiseach Enda Kenny today welcomed the announcment by the London 2012 Organising Committee Chair, Lord Sebastian Coe, that the Olympic torch is to come to Dublin on its journey to London for the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics. The Taoiseach said:

The announcment that the Olympic Torch Relay is to come to Dublin is fantastic news and will put Ireland centre-stage in the immediate run-in to the games. This brings even closer to home the spirit of the Olympic games which is being hosted by our near neighbours in London next year. I would like to thank Pat Hickey and the Olympic Council of Ireland for their efforts in ensuring the Olympic torch visited these shores. I met with members of the London 2012 Organising Committee earlier this year and I'm delighted that they have decided to include Dublin in their torch ceremony.

Minister of State for Tourism and Sport Michael Ring said:

This is also tremendous news from a tourism perspective. This year we had the highly successful visits of Queen Elizabeth and President Obama, and today’s announcement means that we will again have an opportunity for significant international media focus on Ireland next summer. I know the tourism agencies will be doing everything they can to maximise the benefits of the torch being in Dublin. It should be particularly useful in terms of generating further positive publicity in Great Britain – our most important overseas tourism market.

Read the full press release here.