Irish Hosts Reunite with Mercy Home Travelers

November 12, 2025

Five months after hosting eight of our young people for a once-in-a-lifetime journey to Ireland, our friends from County Cork visited Chicago and reunited with some of the young people who were on the trip this summer. 

Derry Cronin and Ger Power flew to Chicago this fall to attend an international rugby match between Ireland and New Zealand at Chicago’s Soldier Field. A few days beforehand, the pair made sure to stop by our West Loop Campus and see the friends they had made earlier this year.  

“There’s such a big connection here,” said Cronin, who runs Specialized Travel and Cronin Coaches in Cork. “We wanted to see them again and not let it slip away. [That trip] was such a good week. It’s great to hear some of their memories that they loved.” 

Cronin and Power were greeted with warm hugs from the Mercy Home coworkers they hosted as well. After catching up with staff, the four young men who traveled to Ireland arrived.  

“It was really nice to be there and say hi to the guys,” said Julian, who left for the trip just one day after introducing his fellow graduates at last June’s Graduates’ Luncheon. “It doesn’t feel like it’s been five months.” 

This was the sixth youth group our friends in Ireland have hosted since 2010. Mercy Home’s relationship with County Cork is the charitable outgrowth of a trade, technology, and tourism partnership between the governments in County Cork, Ireland and Cook County, Illinois. For Tyreese and a few other travelers, it was their first time on an airplane. And for all 12, it was their first visit to Ireland.   

“At Mercy Home, Ireland is just the stage,” Cronin said. “What they’re doing is sharing experiences together. None of those kids would’ve said they wanted to go to Ireland if they could go anywhere. Now, there’s been 48 kids who have been through the program and 48 kids from Chicago that have a very different view of Ireland than what they see on St. Patrick’s Day.” 

The group reminisced on the days they spent on the boat, kissing the Blarney Stone, and of course, eating lots of ice cream.  

“I think one of the most valuable things that we do at Mercy Home is expand their worlds,” Marc Velasquez, one of the coworkers that went on the trip, said. “The best way to do that is to show them a piece of the world that they’ve never seen before. It was nice to see that youthful wonder that they had. In a lot of ways, it makes me youthful too.” 

Rhyan, a young person who lives at the Home, said he missed eating fish and chips and Julian said that he saw the ocean for the first time. Aaron, wearing his Cork County t-shirt, remembered having tears of joy when he got to hold a baby goat. 

“It’s extraordinary to watch everybody develop differently in a completely different environment,” Cronin said. … “The real magic is watching the kids interact with each other. They learned to trust themselves, the place, their friends, the staff.” 

Ger Power, who serves as chairman of the Cork/Cook County partnership, said that the young people they met on day one of the trip were so much different than the ones they said goodbye to.  

“By day six, they’re like family,” Power said. “You see the growth and development that they have together.” 

Our visitors also brought a friend named Frank to visit Mercy Home for the first time. Frank said he had admired from afar the work that Mercy Home does and didn’t want to pass up the chance to meet some of the young people.  

“I had heard so much about what Mercy Home was doing here, so I wanted to come see the place,” he said. “I never realized the place was so big. I had heard about this little group, but that’s a tiny aspect of all the things that you do here. It’s great to see the staff and the guys themselves.” 

Mercy Home’s Director of Business Development & Strategic Initiatives Jim Marrese chaperoned the first Ireland trip back in 2010 and shared how it had evolved over the years. Derry and Ger still keep in touch with him to this day.  

“This is something that has naturally grown and evolved from friendships,” Cronin said. “Mercy Home has trusted us and we’ve trusted them. It’s one of the nicest things that you’re not looking for something back from. You’re just investing a little time and effort.”