carl safina: lionfish belong in the pacific, but now they're in the atlantic, threatening sea life on thousands of miles of coasts and coral reefs. people are fighting back. divers compete to spear them, fishermen catch them, and chefs are figuring out how to eat them. fantastic!

major funding for saving the ocean is provided by: and by: hi, i'm carl safina. no matter where i travel, i always return here to walk, feel the seasons change. i've been coming here since i was a kid. now i'm a marine biologist and i write books about the ocean-- that magic, majestic two-thirds of the planet that starts right there in the surf. in my travels i see pollution, overfishing, coral reefs in trouble. but i also meet inspiring people working to solve problems. in this series, we visit people with solutions,

and places getting better. so i hope you'll join me in these journeys. it's all about saving the ocean. a pedicab ride for a load of fish. it's a first for me. we're at the cape eleuthera institute in the bahamas and i'm helping out mark hixon, one of the world's top coral reef experts, as he confronts these... quite the haul. all over the caribbean and up and down the atlantic coasts of north and south america, these strikingly beautiful fish are despised. they are the world's worst marine alien invasion.

mark takes us down to see the fish that don't belong here. hixon: look here over here to the right. you can start seeing the number of lionfish that live on this reef. safina: i see them here immediately. hixon: one is here. there's a couple under that ridge. now one's coming out; there's another one going down. further back i see two more. they're in every little nook and cranny. none of these fish were here five years, ten years ago. now they're everywhere. safina: the dark patches you can see through the clear blue bahamas waters are all coral reefs. across the caribbean, from florida to south america, they add up to thousands of square miles, and lionfish are in every patch. lionfish are native to the pacific and indian oceans,

but here they're causing havoc on the reefs, as we'll see. and they're only the latest in a succession of assaults that caribbean reefs have had to deal with. at first sight, the typical 21st century caribbean reef doesn't look too bad. there are plenty of fish, plenty of these beautiful fan-like soft corals. but everywhere, the rocks are covered in a blanket of green algae. and these rocks are actually dead coral, the hard corals that once built this reef. here and there you can see a head of hard coral like this, not yet dead, but clearly diseased. yeah, so, we're still witnessing the dying of these reefs. it's so sad. yeah, i've been brought to tears more than once witnessing beautiful reefs die. safina: coral's problems, like algae, have many causes--

polluted runoff from land, or sudden warming events that stop coral growth. mark hixon believes lionfish could be the last straw, because they attack a vital reef component-- its fish. hixon: see these beautiful little purple and yellow fish that are up on the top of this ledge? safina: yeah. those are called fairy basslets. and we know that lionfish are eating these things very rapidly, so even though we see them here, there would be many more here if the lionfish weren't here. safina: right in front of us, a lionfish demonstrated why they're such a threat. hixon: it's slowly moving in on that little goby. it's getting ready to strike. it's slowly stalking its prey, very much like a real lion.

safina: the goby just doesn't recognize this alien fish as a danger. hixon: got it! safina: that was incredibly fast! wow! that's one of the fastest strikes known in nature. safina: you can see just how fast from this super slow motion video. it takes only three-hundredths of a second from the start of the strike to the capture of the prey. the numbers of this amazingly effective predator have skyrocketed in the caribbean and atlantic, where they have no natural enemies. they left those on the other side of the globe. lionfish are a classic invasive alien species. invasives crop up all the time because, to the dismay of biologists, people are constantly moving plants, insects and other animals around the world. where do you think the lionfish came from to begin with? how did they get here to begin with?

they're native to the indian ocean and the west pacific, and how did they get here? lionfish are very popular aquarium fish. so they're captured in the philippines and indonesia and sold in the united states. and what often happens is people will move and they don't want to kill their fish, so they go to the ocean and let it go. and that happened enough times in the area of florida so that eventually there was a breeding population, and they're just going like gangbusters now. so there were just chronic little releases from individual people. safina: the first lionfish sighting was in a crab trap off fort lauderdale in 1985. from there they spread rapidly. they're amazing reproducers-- a single female produces a million eggs a year. and they'll live anywhere, from shallow reefs to thousand-foot depths. they're as far north as new york, and they're still spreading down the east coast of south america. only cold water holds them back.

they arehe perfect invasive storm. so what can we do about them? that's what mark and many other scientists and ocean lovers are trying to figure out. the simplest approach is just to remove them. there's four on this row, so let's try those first. safina: okay. safina: lionfish won't take a lure on a fishing line, but they're not hard to net. see, it's simple. way to go! you caught your first lionfish. safina: mark is running experiment to see the effects of keeping specific patches of reef lionfish-free. with lionfish now literally countless along thousands of miles of coastline and reefs, it's too late to eradicate them. hand clearing is a lot of work,

but the hope is that at least in a few cleared areas, native fishes and corals can thrive and bounce back from the many other onslaughts they've suffered from in recent times. then these once-magnificent reefs can still be here for future generations to enjoy. hixon: whoa! my first lionfish doubleheader. doubleheader! i'm sure you didn't expect that one day your reefs would be overrun with a fish from a different ocean. hixon: the first time i saw a lionfish on a caribbean coral reef, i was absolutely stunned. it would be like going for a walk in your neighborhood forest in the united states and coming upon a tiger. it was just unbelievable. and the first one was just amazing, we thought, "how interesting." and then they just kept coming and coming and coming.

so it's just a population explosion, and i don't know where it's going to end. safina: so if a community wants to keep its reef clear of lionfish, what do they have to do? so it'd be something like forming a dive club and people volunteering to periodically go out to their reef and scoop up the lionfish with nets, which is pretty simple to do. there's places in the bahamas where we've found that you can remove the lionfish once every three months and that's enough to keep the populations low. safina: now that's what's beginning to happen. i'm on a team that's taking part in a lionfish derby. we're about to go down on this reef. it's the day of the derby and we're going to see what we can find as far as lionfish, and when we find them, we're gonna spear them.

safina: we're drift diving in the current off fort lauderdale. our boat has to keep track of the flag that's attached to one of us. we all hope they have sharp eyes so they'll be there when we surface. fittingly, the derby is being held in the waters where the lionfish invasion began. it's a competition, with cash prizes for the biggest catch, but i'm happy to say there don't seem to be any lionfish. oh, there it goes, starboard side.

diver up. two divers. no lionfish. nice dive, no lionfish. so the lionfish basically evaded us. safina: we try again in another spot. there's lots of great sea life, and the reefs are generally in better shape than in much of the bahamas. then we see our first lionfish, and i've got the spear. that's a camera attached to it, by the way. oh no! try again.

the lionfish takes cover and we lose it. soon there's another. one of my teammates goes for it. probably just as well. our second catch. success! we got a couple. safina: well, it wasn't much for a day's work. let's hope the other teams did better. time to report our catch at derby headquarters. oh, yes, other teams did a lot better. one boat got 112. how many fish did you guys get? 83 is what i counted. 83! wow! we present you with our catch. congratulations.

don't say we didn't help. every lionfish counts. safina: the good news is that derbies do seem to be having an impact. from the derby that we did in the bahamas two months ago, we found that there was over a 60% decline in the population on the reef after the dey. so, really dramatic decline. you're seeing a change in the size of the fish afterwards? yeah, we decreased the size by 50% and we decreased the abundance by 60%, so it's a pretty significant effect of the derby. just really exciting for everyone. we're pretty stoked about it. safina: the derby is run by a divers' conservation organization called reef. so do you think this means that they can be controlled or do you think this means that the problem is overwhelming? we don't expect that once a year that's going to solve the problem, but this is a great way to remove a lot of fish, reduce the population and increase awareness. regular control efforts on a regular basis, the same sites, can have a very positive effect

on reducing the population and impacts. 384. that is the largest one i've recorded today, 384. look at that one. yeah, that's a nice one. safina: after 20 years of fighting overfishing, i know the power of people to deplete the fish they're targeting, and this is the only overfishing that i support. safina: we're back in the bahamas with mark hixon. hixon: this is a reef where we're keeping the lionfish away. safina: can reefs recover from all their other problems if lionfish are removed? as on so many reefs, coral here is being smothered by algae. there's so much algae here because parrotfish-- the reef's own algae-eaters-- have been overfished, and also because fertilizer runoff from the land has stimulated algal growth. hixon: you can see the parrotfish actually grazing on the reef surfaces. safina: if lionfish eat the baby parrotfish, the coral will die and eventually the reef will become a pile of rocks.

but here mark is seeing encouraging signs. so you can see these small baby corals growing on different places in this area where there's been a lot of grazing. and that's the future of the reef. this looks really good. the reef needs more grazers like we see here. if we can keep the lionfish from eating all the baby parrotfish, then we'll have the grazers that the reef needs to thrive. safina: here in the lionfish-free reef, they're seeing more baby fish. in the short term, we need to keep lionfish off at least the best reefs so they can stay alive. we'll be buying time,

both to tackleong-term problems like overfishing and polluted runoff, but also in the hope that something-- like a disease or a predator-- will emerge that can control lionfish without our help. the strategy depends on people continuing to take part in derbies, or volunteer for diver groups. but there may be another way to go. i'm with dave johnson, and we're in mexico's yucatan peninsula. dave traveled in mexico for years before marrying into a local fishing family. we're taking the ferry over to the island of cozumel. tourism and fishing are the big industries here, and lionfish threaten both. dave's idea is to transform lionfish from a scourge into a delicacy. in the last couple of years he's developed relationships with local fishing co-ops. this is one of them.

so this looks like a nice place. it's a very nice place. really well kept. safina: the co-op processes its own locay caught lionfish. one problem-- 18 poisonous spines that the workers really have to watch out for. but the meat itself, they say, makes excellent eating. for the co-op, lionfish are actually becoming an asset-- they're making lemonade out of lemons. would you prefer that the fishermen wipe them out completely or would you prefer that this is a new kind of fish that you can sell that stays here forever? (speaking spanish) johnson (translating): we have to be realists. this fish has arrived and it's going to stay. safina: the fishermen are well aware of the extreme risks that lionfish pose to life here. if you were not catching any lionfish at all,

what would the fishing be like three years, five years from now for the other fish on the reef? johnson (translating): hundreds of fishermen would lose their jobs. many people that live on tourism would lose their jobs. safina: dave johnson now ships lionfish to specialty restaurants in a dozen u.s. cities. his only problem? the fish is becoming popular with locals, so the price he pays the co-ops is going up.

demand for seafood is rising everywhere, so what dave and the yucatan co-ops are doing could mean bad news for lionfish and good news for the reefs. we're back on the yucatan mainland, in the resort town of puerto morelos. tourists come here to snorkel and dive on the reefs, alongside spear fishermen from the local co-op. spear fishing is a highly effective way to catch fish, and the sad fact is that reefs here and all over the caribbean have been badly overfished. now lionfish are a new target for which overfishing is just fine. safina: how many years he you been doing this lionfish exporting? johnson: a little more than two years.

safina: we're going lionfishing with the puerto morelos co-op. remember how in fort lauderdale one diver had to tow a flag for our boat to follow? here they use lookouts. they put two snorkelers in the water and the snorkelers watch where the divers are. now the snorkelers are constantly swimming to keep up with them, and we're constantly drifting away. so we're always moving back up to the snorkelers and the snorkelers are keeping their eyes on where the divers are. without that the divers would be lost right away. 90 feet below us, the diver concentrates on getting as many lionfish as he can in the shortest time. a tank of air costs money. it may not seem like it, but with someone as skilled as forcio,

using a spear gun is one of the most humane ways to fish. every shot is placed accurately in the head, so the fish is killed instantly. none of the valuable meat is spoiled, either. forcio is ruthlessly efficient. you can see how easy it would be to overfish this way. in many parts of the caribbean, spear fishing has been banned, but exceptions are being made for lionfish. in one 30-minute dive, forcio's done pretty well. wow, look at those! that's really quite a catch. they've got, i don't know, maybe a dozen, dozen-and-a-half lionfish. a couple of them are really quite chunky, too. pretty big.

look at how big this one is, look at how big this one is. ¿cuántos pesos para estes? doscientos pesos. the catch is worth about 200 pesos, so roughly, in u.s., 20 bucks. safina: it's enough to cover the crew, the air tank, the boat and the gas, and make a little profit. and things can only get better as people develop a liking for lionfish. so, using forcio's catch, we're going to do our bit to promote a new seafood sensation. chef renato espinoza has eaten lionfish and knows it's good. but he's never cooked with it. dave and i are anxious for him to know exactly where the poisonous spines are. one poke is not fatal, but it can be extremely painful. safina: lionfish may be a novelty now, but if dave has his way,

they'll become a routine part of restaurant menus. the poison is only in the ends of the spines, by the way, not in the meat. they're sneaky fish even when they're dead. here's what renato came up with. cooking destroys the poison, so whole fish are quite safe. great job! you're an artist. you like? yes, terrific. that's fantastic. fantastic. guilt-free. and sabroso, very tasty.

flavor is nice, mild but very flavorful, very delicious. safina: if every beachfront restaurant on this coast put lionfish on the menu... watch out, lionfish. let's see if we can nvince the tourists. so this is a new kind of fish called lionfish. it's from the pacific and the indian ocean. what do you think? good. mmm. did you like it? i really liked it. safina: we might have a hit on our hands. what do you think? i really liked it. safina: i think i'm going into business with dave. for saving the ocean, i'm carl safina. nice! nice? very good. major funding for saving the ocean is provided by:

and by: there's more saving the ocean online at pbs.org/savingtheocean. saving the ocean is available on dvd. to order, visit shoppbs.org or call 1-800-play-pbs. be more. pbs.

>> announcer: this program is brought to you by cie tour international with all-inclusive tour and value vacations throughout ireland and britain cie tourists..com. and by tourism ireland celebrating a special year in ireland, gathering in 2013 a year-long countrywide celebration of music, food, culture and events. ireland.com, and by today you'll find the irish americans where need is breakest giving time, money, talent and concern. contributing is all the irish can to the spirit of america.

your requirement company. your retirement company. ♪ ♪ we the dream and the the new ♪ ireland." coming up on this week's program -- ♪ >> seven nights of fun and irish entertainment on board the cruise of irish stars ews from ireland the national

broadcasting service. ♪ >> patricia: politicians, medical practice and activists are studying the heads of protection of life during pregnancy bill, which was published late last night the draft legislation would allow for terminations, where there is a real and substantial threat to the life of the mother, incling the threat of suicide. >> this bill went through no fewer than 50 drafts and covers an area of great complexity. however, they insisted the terms were as narrow as possible. >> this bill restates the general prohibition on abortion in ireland. the law on abortion in ireland is not being changed. legislation would be strictly, strictly within the program

meters of the constitution and the supreme court judgement in the x case. >> sayinghe law would dispel what had been uncertaintiy in the area. >> women have the right to know, if the worst happens, they will be able to have life-saving treatment. for years, they have been denied that right. the simple right of knowing that in the final analysis their doctor can act to save their life. >> but a number of the backbenchers still have concerns, that could make it hard for some of them to back the measure. >> at this point it would be very difficult, i'll tell you what i will do. i will work every day between now and when we have to vote to have this changed. this is is a fundamental princple for me. >> from the other side of the argument one left wing td says the proposals didn't go far enough. >> let's be clear what you have presented is the absolute minimum. the clear intention is to make it so restrictive that most women, who will be effected will

not even bother. instead they will continue to make the journey to britain so, you can continue to pretend that there's no irish abortion. >> but jerry adams signals they might back the measure. >> pregnant women, whose lives are at risk need protection. let's look at it from that particular need. 20 years is too long for irish women to wait and practitioners to wait. >> there's been a mixed reaction to the bill. how religious and social affairs correspondent joe little has been gauging opinion. >> pro-life protesters outside of landster house accused of ignoring evidence that abortion is harmful to women, who are suicidal during pregnancy. >> it is absolutely extraordinary to me and other people working in this area to think that doctors are going to asked to prescribe as a treatment abortion, which they regard to be harmful. >> reporter: but at the national maternity hospital, there was a warm welcome for the proposed measure. >> it provides a degree of legal

clarification for women and doctors surrounding those times, when there are difficult decisions to be made, when a woman's life is at risk and during pregnancy. >> reporter: the umbrella body representing 165 women organization welcomed the proposal, reserving special praise for the requirement for just one doctor's approval for an emergency aboion. >> well, they're very concerned about the fact that there are three doctors required in the case of a suicide risk. we feel that this may be so restrictive to be unworkable. we really need to look at this further. the nation's women's council recommended as two as the maximum number of doctors needed. >> reporter: the council is concerned the european court of human rights ruling which forced the government to ac, would be breeched. because the process of obtaining an abortion here would remain ineffective and inaccessible to women. joe little, rteews. patcia: presint michael higgins has made his strongest criticism yet of how e.u.

leaders are handling europe's economic crisis in an out spoken interview with the "financial times "newspaper he says the european union faced a morale crisis as much as an economic one and called on the european central bank to do more to promote growth. ♪ >> when michael higgins was inaugurated no one expected a timid presidency with the report of a public intellectual present higgins wouldn't be muzzled by office. he credittesed the dominance of market economic and warned if itunt tackled the e.u. could face what he called a crisis of leth macy. in today's comments in the "financial time "the president higgins warned of the problem of relining on one dominnic economic model and claiming a more varied approach was needed he also criticized the e.c. b. claiming its policies had driven unemployment and seen investment

and demand fall. haidz remarks from president higgins strasberg speech, but does it go beyondiot constitutional line. >> differenting views from academics. >> he may have crossed it. she more or less giving the alternative policy for the one popular or not is being followed that is the business of the head of opposition, not the head of state. >> every president has his own personality as long as the constitutional balances are respected they put their own shape on. michael higgins comes from the world of ideas, and it would be surprising that he didn't engage actively in debates nationally and internationally. >> it is sure to continue with many interventions from the president. government buildings. >> president higgins has been hosting the duke of kent this evening. earlier the duke became the first member of the british royal family to lay a wreath at

the siggerson memorial at devon cemetery. it pays tribute to the men and women of easter 1916. and paidributeo irissue men, who fought in the two world wars. most of the security gates on diary historic walls are being removed and replaced by security cameras. northern ireland justice minister david ford says that change would enhance dare reputation as a tourist destination and as the role as this year's u.k. city of culture. >> reporter: the sparks were flying for positive reasons in dare 11 of the 16 security gates are coming down. the closure of the gates within these same walls by the city's apprentice boys was a significant event over 300 years ago. northern ireland justice minister regards today initiative as an important piece of history in modern times. >> you see around about the

signs are the good work done to make darey a more attractive place. as we look into the city of cullure, i think it will make tourist opportunities working without the gates here much better. i think it is good news for darey five of the 16 will remain in place, at the request of the mainly protestant residents living in fountain estate. it is the last sir john clav on the nationalit west bank of the city in tense time, it is usually the first place attack. darey's mayor believe it's a sensible decision to continue closing the gate, overlooking the fountain estate each night. >> these gates are here to protect that small enclave. the only time they will come down is with the sense of the community. that community is not ready yet. unless the city is to work, taking down all of the other gates. >> reporter: this isn't the end of the journey, but it is another significant stage reached. it is one more reminder that the

city of mcguiness and hume is setting the pace for the rest. tommy garmin. darey. seven nights of fun and entertainment. note ♪ ♪ once again ♪ a nation once again ♪ and ireland ♪ reportknow you're not on a typical cruise to the caribbean when you hear "a nation once again "followed by "god bless

america" ♪ god bless america ♪ ♪ my home sweet home ♪ >> patricia: this was an irish american cruise, which left from fort lauderdale for seven night of fun and irish entertainment on board the msc cruise ship the parissia. [applause] >> patricia: named the cruise of irish sta it was organized by the popular entertainer from long island andy croonny. >> the first one was in 1998. this is our 15th year. you know, just when i think i put the perfect package together and can't beat it, every year it seems to get better and better. this year we have almost 1100 people on the cruise of irish stars. almost double what we had last year. so i think our country is coming out of this rough economy.

people are starting to move on with their les. we sincerely have become one, big happy family. people come year after year after year to even comsee some of the great entertainers we bring every year. or just to reconnect with people they have met over the years on the cruise of irish stars. ♪ no i won't ♪ no i won't turn my back on you ♪ ♪ no i won't ♪ you know i'm going to leave patricia: what makes the cruise of irish stars unique is the entertainment. one would be hard pressed to find anywhere on land the quality and vary variety of acts from one of the world's greatest tenors. the franky gavon and davon to ireland funniest man noel ginisy.

♪ ♪ hold my hands >> patricia: wherever you go on the ship, the pool deck, the theater, the various bars and lounges, something is going on. >> we have over 50 musicians on this cruise playing all of the different venues around the ship. there's something for everybody. when people come on this cruise, they know the level of entertainment that we bring. they're going to see top class, irish music. they're going to hear people like the great dee danon. franky gavon. world-class fiddler. two incredible shows they gave us this week. reasonnan tinian a world-class iris tenor and a world performance ♪ oh, my friends, my friends ♪ ♪ don't ask me ♪ what this sacrifice was for ♪ empty chairs and empty tables

♪ where my friends will meet no more ♪ >> we were also, also very, very lucky to have the choir from long island new york from grit irish americans call the hybernian festival singers i first sang with them believe it or not at carnegie hall in new york. ♪ ♪ no we ♪ we and your ♪ and all will remain ♪ ♪ puts your hands in the air

♪ >> not only do they give us great performances they look to mingle with the passengers and meet these wonderful performers. that's what the cruise has become, just one, big, happy family between the musicians the passengers. it is kind of like a run a cruise. i bring all of this best friends in the music business on the cruise. all of my best friends and people come to see us. we get to mingle with them and have a great time. ♪ ♪ moon river ♪ off to see the world ♪ such a lot of world to see ♪ we're after same ♪ rainbow's end ♪ wting around the bend

♪ my huckle berry friend ♪ moon river ♪ and me >> this is my seventh year. i have to say i enjoy every year. i love seeing those faces come on the cruise and they're smiling. the enjoyment of this cruise, as opposed to any other. it is community. and people let go. and they go on fire. they renew their friendships, as well as everything else. they're the same kind of smile. the same kind of endearment. you know sometimes you see these people. you think "terms of endearment "it is the ship of endearment. the cruise of endearment.

♪ >> but we have been planning it for 40 years. it changes over the years. i think it just gets better. the line-up gets better. the music gets tighter. it is-- a little different in style, but still the heart and soul. and the present time it is the best i've played so far. >> this response of the cruise has been extraordinary. the concert wherever they may be we like to meet people after the show. but here on the cruise that concert you meet people afterwards. they enjoy the day. set down and a bit to eat and come and chat with you. it is lovely. it is like a huge family. the whole thing is before ♪

♪ i saw you all was green ♪ come to me ♪ in my dreams of love of y-or ♪ i love you ♪ i loved you ♪ when you were ♪ when you were free ♪ >> the visit ports of call in the western caribbean.

cozumel, mexico, the beautiful island of rottan off of honduras. the cayman island and port of foul mouth in jamaica. ♪ back on board it's easy to understand why cruising has become such a popular vacation option. you unpack once and everything you need is right there. from fine dining and the elegant restaurants to relaxing on the pool deck. want to learn something on your vacation. lectures were offered in irish history. and irish dance classes were organized by susan conners.

>> dancing is very important on the ship. people come on board, just to do the dancing and then i give the lessons. sometimes it is four times a week. and we do a lot of simple dances, irish dances. and seige of venice and up to the difficult stack of barrelly, but they come every day to learn it. then they take their dancing up to the pool deck. ♪ >> a lot of times we have people who have never danced who watched it or danced as a child and never done it again. by the end of the week they're out there dancing. ♪ northerly, northerly ♪ ♪ to the fan ♪ springtime where you are ♪ and folws i the end

>> the fella said are you going on vacation. i said i am going away. >> he said are you going any place nice? [laughter] >> i said no, i went some place nice last year. i'm going some place crap this year. [laughter] ♪ ♪ first time ♪ i next >> the are four sisters in the northwest of ireland. we've been coming over to america for the past couple of years. we play all over north america, like on the east coast, to the west coast.

we have been coming on this cruise for the last couple of years. just such a good time. we really enjoy it. >> a singer so i think the four of us have strains of her voice in us. there is this thing with sibling a natural blend. the harmony just comes naturally. ♪ we met a strange man ♪ we never have better ^ ♪ no the glory oh to the man ♪ glory oh, to the to the man ♪

♪ >>he crue has become an annual event. and indeed the highlight of the year for many of the passengers and entertainers. ♪ >> patricia: most plan on returning next year, when the cruise of irish stars will set sale for the eastern caribbean on board msc new luxury ship the gasina. >> have been coming for 20 years. i'm delighted to tell you we're handling his irish stars cruise of 2014 saling from miami february 1-8 on the luxury liner the msc davina, a spectacular ship that holds more than 4,000 sailing to ports of call st. martins, san juan, and cay the private island in the

bahamas. >> of course we will have some of our great performers back. i can't do the cruise without the screaming orphans and tom conniver and ronan tinian. next year we will have a lovely performer detra,riley known as dee riley a wonderful powerhouse performer. also joining us next year will be cathy dirkin and her son andrea they have been with us in the past. people have been asking for them and a wonderful performer sean keen. a great musician. i know people will love him. ♪ when the ship brought us all together ♪ ♪ and friendship makes our heartsnight ♪ friendship alive for pleasure ♪ ♪ and friendship brought us here tonight ♪ ♪ come on.

happy-- ♪ we all ♪ ♪ happy we are once and gone ♪ alive for pleasure ♪ may we rise and never fall ke. we'll see you soon. >> announcer: this program is brought to you by part by cie tours international.

for over 80 years featuring all-inclusive tours and go as you please value vacations throughout ireland and britain. cie tours..com. note haute. >> by tourism ireland celebrating the gathering 2013 the countrywide celebration of music, food, and utilitiure utilitiure-- culture. >> you will find irish americans giving time, money, tallent and concerns for t needs of most. contributing as only the irish can to the spirit of america. the your retirement company. ♪ with the dream ♪ ♪

>> get a chair and join me for a "classical stretch" workout to loosen your hips. >> "classical stretch" is made possible in part by iberostar hotels and resorts, with beachfront resorts around the world. each resort features extensive gardens and large swimming pools with maximum respect for the surrounding environment. iberostar hotels and resorts. jamaica--once you go, you know. american airlines, traveling to over 250 cities in 40 countries. [captioning made possible by friends of nci]