THE GUEST list for the second summit of influential Irish diaspora members will include a former US president, global business leaders and figures from the worlds of acting, sport and comedy.
The Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed last night that former US president Bill Clinton will address the crowd at St Patrick's Hall in Dublin Castle on Saturday October 8th as part of the Global Irish Economic Forum.
Hilary and W Galen Weston, who this year topped the Irish Sunday Times rich list will be in attendance as well as Peter Sutherland of Goldman Sachs and Dermot Desmond.
Irial Finan of the Coca-Cola Company; PJ Hough, corporate vice president of Microsoft; and Philip Cronin, managing director of Intel Australia and New Zealand are also among the 250-plus expected attendees.
Other names include John Fitzpatrick, president and chief executive of Fitzpatrick Hotel Group; Denis O'Brien chairman of Digicel; and the young, Limerick-born entrepreneur John Collison.
CEO of Etihad Airlines, James Hogan is due to attend as is Willie Walsh, the chief executive of International Airlines.
A former advisor to Bill Clinton and current director of the American Ireland fund, Declan Kelly will also attend.
Figures from various cultural and sporting backgrounds are also among the guest list for the two-day event including writer and film maker Neil Jordan; Paul McGuinness, the manager of U2; and president of the GAA, Christy Cooney.
Secretary General of the European Commission, Catherine Day will be in attendance as will Tom Arnold of Concern Worldwide; and Noel Curran, the director General of RTÉ.
The two-day event is to be opened by the Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, on October 7th before taking part in a debate entitled "Ireland, the road to recovery" which will be streamed online.
A number of debates due to take place over the course of the two-day event will include government ministers.
Some of the planned debate topics include "Ireland's image abroad: communicating the message" and "Making Ireland more competitive in new and emerging markets".
One debate, to be chaired by broadcaster Matt Cooper, is entitled "Promoting Irish culture: building on the progress since Farmleigh," and will feature Minister for Arts Jimmy Deenihan; actor Gabriel Byrne; chief executive of Lambert & Associates Helen Lambert; comedian and TV presenter Dara Ó Briain; and author Colm Tóibin.
An online community for Irish people "and those who think Irish" will also be unveiled as part of the forum.
A number of working groups will discuss a range of topics including job creation; how Ireland can improve its tourism product abroad; and the expansion of the Irish food sector.
The summit will also discuss how the Irish banking sector could avoid the mistakes of the past and position itself to take advantage of the future.