Georgia Southern University welcomed Dr. Leo Varadkar, Ireland's minister for transport, tourism and sport, on Tuesday at a reception in the Eugene M. Bishop Alumni Center to recognize the launch of the Wexford-Savannah Axis research partnership. The partnership examines how and why so many people from the Irish town of Wexford and southeastern Ireland immigrated to Savannah in the 19th century, and the impact that had on Irish and American generations in both countries. The initiative is a joint research project between Waterford Institute of Technology, Georgia Southern, the Georgia Historical Society in Savannah and the John F. Kennedy Trust, based in New Ross, County, Ireland, where Wexford is.