10% of all US travel to Europe now coming to Ireland

Ireland's best ever year for tourism is due in part to the currency gains from the US dollar and sterling, a great product and additional routes from the US.

That's according to Tourism Ireland which says 7.9 million people will have visited here this year, up 11% on 2014.

It is hoped to build on this growth for 2016 and beyond.

Tourism Ireland CEO Niall Gibbons said there had been huge growth in the American market in particular.

"There's more air connectivity into Ireland than there is into Germany now," he said. "We're in 12 different gateways next summer. 10% of all US travel to Europe is now coming to Ireland. That's an amazing statistic."