Consulate activities from October to December 2023
Consul General Jerry O'Donovan looks back on a busy few months of activity at the Consulate.
The second half of 2023 has been a busy one for the Consulate, with activities across Scotland and some high-profile Scottish visitors to Ireland. In late November, First Minister Humza Yousaf visited Dublin to attend the British-Irish Council Summit which focused on the theme of Child Poverty. In addition to meeting with the Taoiseach, he also gave a broad overview of the work being done by Scotland in this important policy area and officials from Ireland will continue to engage with Scottish counterparts on where we can share best practice, innovative policy and interventions. While he was visiting Ireland, a St. Andrew’s Day event was organised by the Scottish Government Office in Dublin, which was held in the beautiful Long Room Library in Trinity College. The First Minister spoke of the long and enduring links between our two countries to a gathering of Scots and friends of Scotland based on the island of Ireland.
On this side of the Irish sea, the Consulate has been active across Scotland. The Consulate undertook a three-day visit to Aberdeen in October, a city which is historically a major hub of the oil and gas industry in the UK and Europe but has increasingly taken a prominent role in the green energy sector. The city is also home to two major universities and has been a regular host to a large cohort of Irish students, staff and academics. The Lord Provost of Aberdeen, David Cameron, paid tribute to the considerable contribution the Irish have made to Aberdeen’s economic, cultural and civic life. Noting the importance of Aberdeen as a global energy hub, the Lord Provost spoke of existing links between Ireland and Scotland in this vital sector. A reception was held for the Irish community in the city in the wonderful setting of the Aberdeen Art Gallery and we were delighted to be joined by the two joint-leaders of Aberdeen City Council, members of Dalriada GAA team, Irish students and staff from the universities and many more long-term Irish residents of the Granite City. I also met with senior staff and the principal of Robert Gordon University, Professor Steve Olivier, to discuss ongoing collaboration with Irish counterparts in areas such as health, net zero transition and supporting rural and island communities. Robert Gordon University is in the top 10 UK universities in terms of Irish student numbers and they spoke of the importance of a strong Irish student population to the ongoing activities of the university.
While in Aberdeen I also met with Professor Michael Brown, co-Director of the Institute of Irish and Scottish Studies (RIISS) in the University of Aberdeen. Opened by President Mary MacAleese in 1999, the Institute promotes research into the languages, histories and literatures of Ireland and Scotland, and of their global diasporic communities. Its creation was inspired by the changes instigated by the Good Friday Agreement and the establishment of the Scottish Parliament the following year. RIISS staff are actively publishing research on both the Irish and the Scottish Enlightenments; the Age of Revolution and Romanticism; and members are developing a research strand on the culture and experience of young people in the area of nation building. Professor Brown and I discussed how the Consulate could better support the work of Irish studies in Scotland and deepen research links between Ireland and Scotland.
In early November, the Consulate undertook a series of engagements in the city of Dundee, which is a major hub for pharmaceuticals, university research and the creative industries in Scotland. I met with the Lord Provost of Dundee, SNP Councillor Bill Campbell who was effusive in his praise of the Irish contribution to the city of Dundee. Noting his previous role as director of Dundee United, he recalled that the club had been established by the Irish community in the city and was originally called Dundee Hibernian before a name change in the 1920s. The Club reached the semi-finals of the European Cup and the final of the UEFA Cup in the late 1980s and remains a great source of pride for the city, with Campbell involved in the creation of a replica of its original green strip to pay tribute to the club’s Irish roots.
I called on Professor Iain Gillespie, Principal of Dundee University, who noted that Irish students remained the highest non-UK cohort within the University. I also visited the University’s Drug Discovery Unit (DDU), the largest and best-equipped university facility of this kind in Europe and discussed the close links that Dundee University has with Irish research counterparts in UCD, Trinity and UCC and how to deepen these in the period ahead. The Consulate hosted a busy reception for the Irish community and key contacts in the Dundee region, attended by the Lord Provost and several members of Dundee City Council as well as the co-leaders of Perth City Council. Also in attendance were a number of representatives of Dundee University, Irish academics and students as well as numerous other Irish people working and living in Dundee and surrounding areas. Dalriada Gaelic Football club, which covers both Aberdeen and Dundee, was also well represented by a number of club members. Also in attendance (and possibly the most popular attendee!) was Irish professional footballer Sean Dillon, who spent ten years at Dundee United where he was captain for a significant period of his career. He is now a player/coach for Montrose.
In early December I visited Inverness to meet with local politicians from both Inverness and the Highlands Council,as well as representatives from the University of the Highlands and the Islands, Highlands & Islands Enterprise and key cultural and business contacts from the region. The Highlands and Islands have a long kinship with the island of Ireland and there are many shared challenges but also shared opportunities in areas such as sustainable tourism, Gaelic/Irish speaking regional collaboration and the renewables sector and I was delighted to engage with so many partners on the ground while in the north of Scotland. I also met with the Camanachd Association to discuss the recent Shinty/Hurling international held in Newry, where a strong Irish side overcame Scotland by 0-22 to 2-08. Scotland were neck-and-neck with Ireland throughout a close contest but in the end the accurate free-taking of the hurlers saw them victorious. We look forward to supporting future fixtures which are a wonderful exhibition of two exciting and skilful sports which both deserve an opportunity to be showcased via this unique international fixture.
On the business front, in early October the Consulate was honoured to attend the Causeway Ireland Scotland Business Exchange for their annual Awards Night. A packed audience of over 200 guests at the Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh gathered together to celebrate some of the best and most innovative companies operating in both countries. Scottish Government Minister for Trade Richard Lochhead paid tribute to the important work being done by Irish and Scottish companies to expand trade opportunities between two key markets for both Ireland and Scotland. Causeway are a hugely valued partner of the Consulate and their unique business network facilitates trade engagement throughout the island of Ireland with Scotland.
In November, the Consulate was also pleased to host the British-Irish Chamber of Commerce’s Energy and Environment Committee, attended by around 20 members of the BICC as well as some Consulate guests active in this sector. The group discussed the economic elements of the Ireland Scotland Joint Bilateral Review, green hydrogen production and supporting the redevelopment of obsolete windfarms to better deliver green transition. A meeting of the BICC Higher Education Committee was also hosted in the University of Edinburgh. This was attended by senior academics from both Ireland and Scotland and was followed by a dinner later that evening in Edinburgh City Chambers, sponsored by SSE Renewables, the largest provider of renewable based energy in both the UK and on the island of Ireland. The dinner was also attended by Scottish Government Minister for Trade Richard Lochhead.
Vice Consul Andrea Wickham Moriarty was delighted to join the Emerald Lunch Club in St Columbkilles hall in Rutherglen at the start of November. Organised by Conradh na Gaeilge and Comhaltas, with funding from the Department of Foreign Affairs’ Emigrant Support Programme, the lunches are an important opportunity for conversation and connection among older members of the Irish community. The music and dancing which form part of the lunches also allow for maintaining links with Irish culture and are a great social mixer! The Consulate looks forward to attending more Emerald Lunch Clubs in the period ahead.
As the year ends and we prepare to spend time with our nearest and dearest, the Consulate would like to wish the Irish community and friends of Ireland in Scotland health, happiness and good fortune for 2024.