Rocky road to Dublin? Maybe not with direct flights …

Terry Murphy, the honorary consul for Ireland in Nevada, shared the welcome news recently after the Irish Independent reported that the airline’s CEO, Stephen Kavanagh said he wants the new direct flights to start next winter.

Right now, the Irish traveler goes to London, then flies to New York, Chicago, Los Angeles or Toronto, then to Las Vegas.

If you’re an Irish citizen and you meet up with Murphy in Las Vegas, it probably means you’ve lost your passport. It might mean someone in your travel group has died, become seriously ill or perhaps been arrested.

In many ways, she is a savior. Murphy said that’s the best part of being a consul: helping people through difficult times.

When the longtime Las Vegas consultant was appointed honorary consul for Ireland in April 2012, “they told me I’d get one call a month,” she said with a laugh. Instead, she works three to 10 hours a week, most weeks.

The No. 1 demand on Murphy’s time is helping people who have lost their passports. She can issue emergency travel documents.

Many Irish partyers use their passports to enter clubs, where they are easily lost. Then they realize they can’t board a plane and won’t be able to enter Ireland.

Murphy also has dealt with five or six deaths and some accidents.

“You’re here with your family, and your brother or dad trips and falls on the sidewalk. You go to UMC and have no idea about insurance or anything. I meet with the family to reassure them,” Murphy said. “You get to be the person to bring a sense of calm and relief. It’s such a comfort to them and a joy to be able to do that.

“They’re devastated and scared and so relieved; it’s emotional and frightening.”

Without honorary consuls like Murphy — she is the only woman out of 11 honorary Irish consuls in the United States — Irish citizens without passports would have to travel to places with Irish embassies, such as San Francisco or Los Angeles, to get the travel papers they need. That can take a couple of extra days.

Getting back to those direct flights between Dublin and Las Vegas: Nothing’s official. The airline sees a market for the flights and is working to make it happen.

Perhaps we should give Ultimate Fighting Championship star Conor McGregor credit for the proposed direct flights from Ireland. Every time he fights in Las Vegas, thousands of tourists from Ireland come to town.

The ones who come are peaceful, Murphy said. “But they know how to party. There’s lot of singing.”

McGregor says he won’t come back to Las Vegas after being fined $150,000 by the Nevada Athletic Commission last year for throwing water bottles at a news conference. But if he comes back, I’m positive his fans would prefer a direct flight.

Jane Ann Morrison’s column runs Thursdays. Leave messages for her at 702-383-0275 or email jmorrison@reviewjournal.com. Follow @janeannmorrison on Twitter.