Ó An Roinn Turasóireachta, Cultúir, Ealaíon, Gaeltachta, Spóirt agus Meán
Le: An tAire Turasóireachta, Cultúir, Ealaíon, Gaeltachta, Spóirt agus Meán; Catherine Martin
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I’m delighted to be here in Austin with you this evening, as part of Ireland’s international St Patrick’s Day programme.
It is wonderful to be joined by so many friends of Ireland in this city, as well as many of our Irish community here.
Our relationships in this city, and across Texas, are incredibly important to us. We want to see these deepen further: with more cultural programming and educational exchange; with more companies investing and doing business in both directions; all underpinned by close, bipartisan relationships with state, county and city leaders.
St Patrick’s Day is a wonderful opportunity each year to promote Ireland and Irish interests and values around the world, as well as engage with our diaspora communities. This year, in all, 38 representatives of the State will bring Ireland’s message to 86 cities in 48 countries.
As the Taoiseach did yesterday in his first speaking engagement for his programme in the United States, I want to begin this evening by speaking about Ireland’s values. Shared values are an important part of our strong bilateral relationship with the United States. And sadly many of the values and freedoms that we cherish are under threat in different places around the world.
For more than two years, we have witnessed unprovoked Russian brutality in Ukraine. The appalling Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October last year was stark in its depravity and we immediately condemned it outright. The killing of tens of thousands of innocent civilians in Gaza in the period since has also been viewed with horror, not only by the Irish people, but by countries around the world.
Ireland has a clear and principled position on these conflicts. We have demanded accountability internationally for Russia’s illegal invasion and we are one of the strongest supporters of Ukraine’s path to EU membership.
Since the early weeks of the conflict in the Middle East, we have consistently called for the release of all hostages, and also argued strongly for an upholding of international humanitarian law, an immediate ceasefire and for sustained humanitarian aid, food and medicine to be provided for the over 2 million desperate civilians in Gaza.
As the Taoiseach said only yesterday in Boston, these civilians are dying not just of relentless bombing and destruction, but of hunger and thirst and from an absence of medical treatment and care.
Let me be clear, the slaughter and maiming of innocent people under any flag, under any name for any cause is wrong. It is reprehensible. Voices for peace must be loud and must be heard. There is an old Irish saying, ‘Ní neart go cur le chéile’ – together we are stronger. We need peacemakers, to unite, to strengthen the call for an immediate ceasefire.
I’m sure you are all aware that our musicians who were due to perform here at South by Southwest this week have chosen not to perform. I spoke this morning to many of those who have withdrawn from the music festival. I want to reiterate the utmost respect I have for their freedom of expression as artists.
Ireland’s own history includes experiences of famine, poverty and forced migration. Even the relative growth and prosperity we have enjoyed since joining the European Union in 1973 co-existed, at least until the 1990s, with conflict very close to home in Northern Ireland.
These experiences have, to an obvious degree, shaped how we view the world around us today. And yet whatever resilience or empathy these experiences can engender within us – even that sense of eventually making our way through the most difficult of times can be tested for all of us when we read or scroll news of our world in 2024.
And so it should be no surprise that we look to young people. Young people have been to the fore in opening our eyes to the climate emergency and to the innovative solutions that can reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and deliver a clean energy future.
Young people globally have demanded respect for international law and for multilateral institutions, and for key actors like the UN Security Council to speak and act coherently in support of a rules-based order, sustainable development and human rights. Indeed, it was these priorities that Ireland sought to emphasise in our own most recent term on the Council over 2021-22.
The theme for St Patrick’s Day 2024 is “Ireland’s Future in the World”, which will focus on young Irish people, and our diaspora, and their perspectives about the world of the future and Ireland’s place in it.
I began my programme this morning meeting with some of the young Irish professionals that currently call Austin home. They were an incredibly talented group working in tech and media. It was really interesting to hear their perspectives on what being Irish, in all its contemporary diversity, means to them.
That talent in tech and in the creative industries is very much on display here in Ireland House this week. Those of you that have attended our programme will have some of the best of Ireland’s trailblazing companies in film, technology, future mobility and the commercial creative sector. These firms are blending creativity, technology, and art to deliver exciting new experiences to engage audiences worldwide.
This year Enterprise Ireland has also for the first time placed a dedicated focus on promoting Ireland’s Commercial Creative Services (CCS) Sector, in particular the advertising, design and immersive experience sector, which contributes over €1.2 billion to the Irish economy.
Ireland’s screen industry is also riding a powerful wave of growth and success. Ireland is becoming increasingly renowned for its storytelling across film, animation, TV and documentary. This year, Irish actors have continued to earn international acclaim - many of whom developed their career through Irish independent film and TV, from Kerry Condon to Paul Mescal to our Oscar winner this weekend, Cillian Murphy.
Irish-language film has also entered a new era, with Colm Bairéad’s An Cailín Ciúin breaking audience records at home and Kneecap becoming the first ever Irish language film to be selected for the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. This February, Irish film marked yet another milestone - when Small Things Like These became the first Irish film to open the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale).
The worldwide success Ireland has experienced to date has been the direct result of long-term, sustained government investment in the Irish screen industry and competitive financial incentives offered under Section 481 of Ireland’s tax code. This recent wave of international acclaim has also been the result of the work and vision of an entire industry, over 30 years in the making.
St Patrick’s Day is an opportunity to showcase Ireland to the world, but we also want to invite you to come and experience Ireland for yourself. Ireland is a dynamic, competitive, productive and globally connected country. We are regularly ranked as one of the best places in the world in which to invest and do business.
Ireland is home to leading industry and innovation clusters. Over 1,800 foreign owned companies, including approximately 50 from Texas, have put down roots in Ireland and made us their strategic base in Europe. Some like Dell and Oracle, have now been there for several decades.
Among the reasons these companies come and stay are:
The island of Ireland is also a truly wonderful place for a holiday. Our scenery is stunning; our people are friendly and welcoming; our green countryside and rugged coastline will simply take your breath away. We offer visitors fantastic, world-class vacation experiences, and as a government we are continuing to invest in our tourism offering.
I’m delighted to say that it has never been easier to get to the island of Ireland from the United States with direct flights from eighteen gateway cities including year-round access with American Airlines from Dallas right here in Texas, or easily connecting via east coast gateways from Austin.
I know there is a strong Limerick connection here with Austin, and it would be remiss of me not to highlight that Limerick will host the Ryder Cup at Adare Manor in 2027 – a great reason to plan a visit to Ireland, if you do not have one scheduled already.
Before I close, I would like to thank our teams in the Department of Foreign Affairs, Culture Ireland, Music from Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, Screen Ireland, Tourism Ireland, IDA Ireland and Bord Bia for bringing Ireland’s programme here in Austin this week to life. I would particularly like to welcome the Chairman of Enterprise Ireland, Michael Carey, who is leading a delegation of exciting Irish Companies in the creative industries space this week.
For Ireland, programmes like the one running in Ireland House this week are now truly all-of-government. We are seeing a depth of collaboration across departments, state agencies and cultural institutions, which opens up a world of possibility.
I know there is much more possibility in our relationships in this city and this state. The innovation, creativity and diversity that this city encompasses mirrors in many ways contemporary Ireland.
We believe we can be an important partner for Austin and Texas in your continued growth. And as we consider Ireland’s future in the world, the economic, cultural and political relationships that our people, our companies and our government are building in this city and state, will undoubtedly continue to be of important strategic value for us too.
Once again, can I say what a pleasure it is to be with you this evening, to meet our partners and community in this city and to celebrate St Patrick’s Day. I hope you enjoy the rest of the evening.
May I wish you a happy and peaceful St Patrick’s Day.