The Emerald Isle has named 2013 the year of The Gathering. That means that everyone with Irish ancestry -- and that's an estimated 70 million people worldwide -- is invited to visit. (BARBARA TAYLOR/QMI AGENCY)

Ireland wants female veterinarians. And redheads. And twins.

The Emerald Isle has named 2013 the year of The Gathering. That means that everyone with Irish ancestry -- and that's an estimated 70 million people worldwide -- is invited to visit.

Clan reunions -- the Murphys, the O'Byrnes, the Gallaghers and all that -- are not unusual but Ireland has given the idea a new twist, with less obvious tie-ins.

"For instance," says Niall Gibbons, hief executive of Tourism Ireland, "the first female veterinarian in Britain and Ireland came from County Roscommon. She was born in 1868. So Roscommon is looking for woman veterinarians the world over to meet there."

Gibbons, in Toronto recently as part of a North American tour to publicize The Gathering, mentioned a couple of other off-beat ideas. "County Clare is calling on everyone named Clare -- or Clara or Claire, etc. -- to come there. And somewhere else there'll be a gathering of twins."

Jayne Shackleford, Tourism Ireland's manager for Canada, said there's to be a reunion of redheads in Cork, "And of course I'll be there.'

No surprise that she's a carrot-top.

St. Patrick's Day parades are, naturally, being tied to The Gathering, and organizers of festivals and sports events in pretty well every village, town and city will be trying to upstage their neighbours.

Irish celebrities such as actors Liam Neeson and Pierce Brosnan are helping to publicize the celebration, said Leo Varadkar, the minister for tourism.

Varadkar, 33, is a reflection of the modern, diverse Ireland: "My father is Indian, my mother Irish," he said.

NEED TO KNOW

For further information, visit the website thegatheringireland.com. To make a start on tracing Irish ancestry, see ancestry.ca.