[3] The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment sought successful members of the Irish diaspora, with Taoiseach Brian Cowen personally inviting them to attend the event in April.

[8] In alphabetical order, notable guests with international connections include: Taoiseach Brian Cowen gave the opening address,[7] talking about the concept of a smart economy.

[5] Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Mary Coughlan was ridiculed in the Irish media after crediting Albert Einstein for Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.

[19] Craig Barrett, former CEO and chairman of Intel Corporation, warned delegates that Ireland was spending "far too little" on education and that "schools are a bigger problem than banking".

[20] On the second day of the forum, Irish Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism Martin Cullen expressed his disagreement with proposed cuts in public sending which were suggested by the McCarthy Report.

[23] President Mary McAleese praised the ""interest in and commitment to" of those who attended, saying the event showed that Ireland is "considerably more than an island on the edge of Europe, but the centre of a vast networked community".

[13] Martin Murphy, managing director of Hewlitt-Packard Ireland, saw it as an opportunity to "truly begin positioning this small, export-driven country for real and sustained economic renewal and growth".