My colleagues and I in the Irish diplomatic service are the swallows of St Patrick’s Day, necessarily planning ahead for the celebration of our National Day. I thought this article in the New York Times was a delightful preview of the coverage of Ireland that comes with March 17th. Initially I feared that it would be twee reportage of quaint rural Ireland with twinkly-eyed natives. In fact it captures the new and old Ireland, the impact of social media in rural matchmaking, the accommodation of gay rights and reflections on an Ireland where “lol” can still mean “lots of land” when it comes to finding a romantic partner: http://t.co/WmPlnWzuYI
It seems apt too to remark at this time of year that there is a spring to the Irish economy. The European Commission is predicting 3.5% GDP growth in Ireland in 2015, possibly the strongest in the EU. Since 2012, an extra 80,000 people are at work and unemployment has fallen from 15.1% to 10.6%.
This is some achievement against a background of austerity at home and either sluggish growth or real deflation across the EU, our largest trading partner: press report here http://t.co/Nd8pfcRgbY.
The government has set a new target of full employment by 2018. Measures in place include regional enterprise strategies with competitive funding initiatives of up to €25million; a new SURE tax incentive for start-ups; a National Talent Drive, including a 60% increase in the number of ICT graduates by 2018; Enterprise Ireland to support exports by Irish companies, expected to hit a record €19 billion during 2015.
What unites these initiatives is that they are all focused on the real economy. Ireland has progressed far in sorting out our banks, though at a heavy price to our taxpayers. We have also taken steps to ensure that banks are there to serve the economy, not the other way around. The focus on the real economy – jobs, exports, innovation, and productivity – is the only way to generate sustained growth which is turn is the only way to lower debt-GDP ratios and keep the national finances on track.
One hundred year commemorations are now fully in train, though 1915 in Ireland was a quiet year compared to what had happened just prior with the passage of the Home Rule Act in 1912 and the outbreak of war in Europe in 1914. One major event however happened just off the coast of Ireland: a commemoration on 1 February last in Cobh, Co Cork remembered the sinking of the Lusitania one hundred years ago by a German U-Boat, killing 1,198 on board: http://t.co/TRrPqVWsTI
Yeats 2015 (www.yeats.com) is a celebration of our greatest national poet. This Op Ed by Adrian Paterson (University College Galway) from the Irish Times captures his greatness and significance http://t.co/XyIxP1aOK2 As Paterson writes: “However we think of Yeats, poetic achievement must be at the heart of any commemoration. But Yeats was more than a poet. He was a cultural revolutionary who became a cultural entrepreneur. He began things, co-founding the Abbey Theatre, the Irish Literary Society and, with his talented family, the Cuala Press, producing designs and books from a single hand-press in Dublin.”
The writing tradition remains as vibrant as ever in Ireland. At a reception on Thursday, 29 January Taoiseach Enda Kenny, TD, announced that the Arts Council has selected Anne Enright as the inaugural Laureate for Irish Fiction (www. http://www.artscouncil.ie/laureate ) She will hold the post for three years.
Irish literature has extended our cultural reach across the generations and the globe. Irish diplomats are acutely aware of this rich dimension and it is a source of great pride to us when serving abroad. A key element in our outreach has been the partnership between the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Ireland Literature Exchange which has been going on now for twenty-one years. The Irish Literary Exchange promotes the translation of Irish works through grants, bursaries and outreach (www.irelandliterature.com ).
Foreign Minister Charlie Flanagan marked this collaboration with a reception at Iveagh House where he noted that “From small beginnings in 1994, the organisation’s output has grown from a modest 12 works of Irish literature in its first year of activity to an impressive current total of 1,650 books in 55 languages.” (link here https://t.co/PYxh2a5Quz ).
Our newly minted Laureate Anne Enright attended the event and wrote about Irish writing in translation in this wonderfully meditative piece here http://t.co/ZobskYxdUQ. As she concluded “I think it is good for Irish readers to have a group of writers who come home to them with the smell of fresh air still trapped in their coats, who write for the whole world, starting here.”
Best wishes,
Eamonn
Eamonn McKee
Ambassador of Ireland
Tel Aviv
eamonncmckee 