The Ely O'Carroll tourism organisation is looking to Maryland in the United States to build up a tourist trade based on the fortunes of one of the great clans of Ireland.
The Clann O'Carroll held large tracts of territory in south Leinster until the rebellions against the English in the seventeenth century reduced many O'Carroll families to the status of tenants on lands they had formerly owned.
Great castles such as Birr fell into the hands of the Parsons family and other seats at Leap, Ballybrit, Cloghan and Oxpark were confiscated by the English.
It was against this background and the Penal Laws, which denied civil rights to Catholics, that one member of the clan, Charles Carroll, emigrated to the New World in 1688.
There, he realised his ambition of reconstituting his family's wealth and founding a new dynasty of Carrolls. His grandson, Charles Carroll of Carrollton, was the only Catholic signatory of the Declaration of Independence.
His grandson's cousins, Daniel Carroll II of Rock Creek and John Carroll SJ, also had distinguished careers, Daniel having served in the 1787 convention that produced the US constitution.
John was to go on to become the first Catholic archbishop in the US and the property of another cousin, Daniel Carroll of Duddington, became the site of the US capital.
Ms Tracey Coughlan, manager of Ely O'Carroll Tourism organisation, said her organisation will begin a tourism drive in Maryland where there is intense interest in the O'Carroll dynasty.
"The people of Maryland and that area of the US are already interested in us and the O'Carroll clan rally will be held here next spring.
"We hope to expand on that interest and to bring people from that area back here because not only did the O'Carrolls leave, but they took a lot of their retainers with them," she said.
"A lot of historical work has been done by Prof Ron Hoffman of the Omothindro Institute of Early US History and Culture and we are working with him.
"There is a lot of material available out there on the people who left the area in museums and libraries and we will be stimulating as much interest as possible before next spring," she said.