dr Agnieszka Syliwoniuk-Wapowska

Warsaw, 18.12.2022
International Cultural Relations
Kalina Kaczorowska
Bartosz Iwanski
Group nr 2

Public Diplomacy of Ireland

1. Introduction
In a world where newspapers, radio stations, televisions, but most importantly of all,
the internet, websites, online magazines and in particular social media are a crucial part of the
daily routine of a large proportion of the world’s population, everything becomes public.
Diplomacy has not fallen short on the ‘trend’ of making itself open and exposed to everyone.
Today, diplomacy is the most ‘public’ it has ever been which leads to the greater
popularisation of the term public diplomacy, the understanding of which is crucial for the
understanding of the contents of the essay which is about to follow.
Namely, speaking in broad terms, when we say public diplomacy, we mean the way in which
governments communicate with other states, diplomatic entities and the general public in
order to represent their own country, goals and visions.1 It is used to a large extent by
governments all around the world in different ways: cultural exchanges, publishing texts and
books, educational programs, language courses, broadcasting etc. The goal is simple: having
control over the shaping of the public image of your own country. In a sense, public
diplomacy can be described as one of the strongest soft powers in the contemporary world.
For the purposes of this essay, we have chosen to work on the north-western European
country Ireland. When talking about public diplomacy as a soft power, it is of pivotal
importance to take into consideration the fact that countries of a smaller size and international
power, such as Ireland (total population 5,123,536 (as of 2022) and total area of 70,273 km2),
usually cannot aspire to, nor can they afford to use hard power in their day-to-day politics and
foreign relations.2 Therefore, soft power for all, but countries such as Ireland in particular,
becomes a tool which is the critical key to cementing their place as an important and valuable
player in the international arena.
Speaking in an international perspective, Ireland is a member of the European Union and
importantly enough, it is one of the EU member countries which support the organisation the
strongest, with, according to a survey3 by Red C Research, conducted for the European
Movement Ireland, an astonishing 88% of the respondents stating that they believe the
1
G. A. Pigman, Public Diplomacy [in:] Contemporary Diplomacy, Polity Press, Cambridge, 2010, p. 121
2
Embassy of Ireland, Great Britain, Irish diplomacy in a globalised world, a talk delivered at the
University of Kent on 2 February 2015,
https://www.dfa.ie/irish-embassy/great-britain/news-and-events/2015/irish-diplomacy-in-a-globalised-
world/, access: 8 December 2022
3
Euractiv, Ireland sees rise in support for EU membership,
https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/short_news/ireland-sees-rise-in-support-for-eu-membership, access: 8
December 2022
dr Agnieszka Syliwoniuk-Wapowska

country should remain a part of the European Union. In addition to the EU, Ireland is also
part of the United Nations, with a rich record of active involvement in many areas of its
work, probably most notably with the Irish involvement in the peacekeeping missions, as
well as areas such as human rights and disarmament. This is closely related to the principle of
military neutrality which is strongly enforced by the country and is arguably one the most
prominent features of its diplomatic policy.
Ireland has the world’s 44th largest economy, characterised by its openness and external
trade, currently holding a GDP of around €183 billion.
Arguably Ireland’s most important relationship in the international arena is, without a
surprise, the United Kingdom. It is, first of all, their closest neighbour, but secondly and
possibly more importantly, they have had a very long, complicated history of intense and at
times problematic interaction, which has changed only not long ago. Therefore, Ireland’s
relationship with the UK is something which cannot be omitted when talking about the
former’s not only public, but its diplomacy in general.
Throughout this essay, we will focus on three specific parts of Ireland’s public diplomacy
which it uses in order to strengthen its soft power. First of all, we will talk about the Northern
Ireland conflict and Ireland’s behaviour during that time, as well as its attitude towards the
Irish Republican Army and the United Kingdom, in addition to discussing the aftermath of
the conflict and the contemporary state of the situation.
Secondly, we will focus on St. Patrick’s Day as a cultural and religious celebration which is
one of the greatest examples not only of Ireland’s use of culture as a form of international
influence, but in general one of the greatest examples worldwide for such a practice. We will
argue that St. Patrick’s Day is inherently political and helps shape Ireland’s public image
better than any hard power ever will.
Thirdly and lastly, the issue of the Irish diaspora will be discussed in terms of its importance
for the country’s public diplomacy.

2. Irish-United Kingdom relations

The public diplomacy of Ireland was always connected with its relationship to the
United Kingdom. The two states since time immemorial have had a complicated and harsh
history, maimed by conquest and mutual hatred - the scars of which can still be felt in the
modern political climate. We believe that in the context of our analysis it is crucial to
understand the past events, hence a part of our work ought to be dedicated to the history of
Ireland and its neighbour.
The island of Éire, also known as Ireland has been the native land of the Galeic people since
the prehistoric era. These people were of Celtic origin and spoke in their own language
known as Gaelic. The land was organised in a patchwork of small kingdoms and chiefdoms
ruled by different clans, which often fought with each other4. Seldom a high king was
ordained that had ceremonial rule over the island, however these periods did not result in the
creation of a unified state as we might understand it now. By the late 4th century Christianity
had begun to gradually replace the earlier native religions, creating the Celtic Christian
Church. This religion (which later became Roman-Catholicism) became ingrained and has

4
Daibhi O Croinin, Longman History of Ireland. Vol. 1, London 1995. pp. 110.
dr Agnieszka Syliwoniuk-Wapowska

since become a cornerstone of the Irish national identity as a whole. A change in the political
climate of the island came in the 17th century with the increasing interest of the English
crown in the affairs of Ireland. Seeing it as simple and readily available land for conquest and
expansion the monarchs of Great Britain began the process of gradual colonisation of the
island. The British started creating the so called plantations, which were patches of land
requisited from the locals and awarded to the protestant minority of English or Scottish
origin. These policies ostracised the native population, condemning it to work the land under
the governance of British lords. The peak of the British efforts to subjugate Ireland was the
creation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801 as a result of the merger
between the puppet state of the Kingdom of Ireland and the Kingdom of Great Britain. The
Irish language was also discouraged and slowly replaced by English (nowadays less than 2%
of the population speaks Irish on a daily basis). However the most striking atrocity committed
by the colonisers was the negligent policies that resulted in the disastrous Great Potato
Famine of the middle of the XIX century. Over a million of people starved to death all while
the British government exported crops out of the island for profit. The population of the
island fell 25% and has still not recovered to this day.
During the beginning of the XX century Ireland was firmly under the grasp of the United
Kingdom, although voices for home rule of the island have been growing in size over the
years. The spark came when in the middle of the British involvement in the First World War
(in which also Irish soldiers took part in) an insurgency erupted in the Irish capital of Dublin.
The so-called Easter Rising of 1916 was a short lived attempt of achieving independence
from Britain by a small group of Irish nationalists. Their efforts were stifled by the lack of
public support and the overpowering British military intervention which quickly led to the
surrender of the insurgents. This event would have probably been forgotten if not for the
brutal judgments that the Irish rebels have been sentenced to. As the executions of the
uprising leaders ensued the public opinion began to change. People who were previously
indifferent to the independence cause began to see it as a necessity.
The outcome of the changing political climate on the island was the Irish War of Indepence
which lasted two years and ended in 1921. Its result was the creation of the Irish Free State -
an independent country which however still retained the status of a british dominion with the
King as the head of the state5. The island has been divided as the result of the war, and
remains so to this day. One fourth of the island remains a part of the United Kingdom as
“Northern Ireland” with a large portion of the population being unionist - wanting to remain
under the crown, while the rest of the territory constitutes the independent nation of Ireland.
The divide has become the main dispute between the two countries throughout the XX
century onwards.
In 1937 the Irish state proclaimed its constitution, which has become a new bone of
contention between the recently fighting states. Its Articles 2 & 3 stated that the territory of
the Irish nation is comprised of the whole island, and that the reunification of the territory
was “pending”6. These descriptions have been met by hostility from the unionist side, as they

5
Encyclopaedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/topic/history-of-Ireland, accessed 17.12.2022
6
Constitution of Ireland of 1 July 1937, pre 1998 amendments
dr Agnieszka Syliwoniuk-Wapowska

felt it was an aggressive way of violating their sovereignty - thus they constituted a breach of
international law.
In 1949 Ireland officially declared itself to be a republic opting out of joining the British
Commonwealth of Nations. The subsequent period was a difficult time for the new country.
The trade war with Britain in the 1930’s greatly damaged the Irish economy and resulted in a
wave of emigration from the country. The unresolved issue of the territory of Northern
Ireland created tension on the island which was brewing until it finally gave way to social
unrest 30 years later.
In 1968 a conflict erupted on the territory of Northern Ireland. The catholics living on the part
of the island believed that they were being discriminated against by the british authorities and
most importantly the Royal Ulster Constabulary - the police force composed mainly of
protestant unionist officers. After major riots erupted across Northern Ireland the British
military was deployed to the region. Initially seen as a neutral force that could bring stability
to the region it soon became apparent that it was firmly on the unionist side of the conflict7.
On the side of the nationalists stood the Irish Republican Army, a paramilitary organization
that used terror as a means of acheving its goal of a united Ireland. The event that shook the
Irish catholic population to its core was the so-called Bloody Sunday during which the British
forces opened fire on unarmed protestors killing 14. The massacre created a backlash in the
society and exacerbated the conflict. Support for the republican IRA rose, fuelling the
hostility between both the local population and the states of Ireland and the UK. The
subsequent conflict became known by the euphemistic term “The Troubles”, and lasted over
30 years8.
During that time the conflict could be described as a “low level war”, as gunfights and terror
attacks became a everyday occurrence. The IRA spread the violence over to Great Britain as
they waged a campaign of bombing in the major cities of the country. It is important to note
that the Irish government in no way encouraged the IRA, even being listed as one of its
opponents by the terror group. Paradoxically throughout the years the governments of Ireland
and Britain became close allies in the conflict, both intending to broker peace and trying to
keep their respective paramilitary organisations in check. This increase in cooperation
eventually led to the most major breakthrough which was the signing of the Good Friday
Agreement in 1998. This bilateral international treaty came as a final stride in the long and
arduous peace process between the sides. The negotiating parties agreed upon issues such as
the status of Northern Ireland as belonging to the UK, the option for residents of N.Ireland to
possess Irish passports, the need to demilitarise the armed paramilitary groups of both sides9.
Its effects can be seen to this day, as armed conflict has dramatically decreased in the region
and both sides are now in the process of peaceful reconciliation for the most part. One of the
points of the treaty was the amendment of the two controversial points in the Irish
constitution - now they reflect a peaceful wish to unite the island, and state that people from
both sides can be a part of the Irish nation.

7
BBC News, https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-49250284 , accessed 17.12.2022
8
Encyclopaedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/event/The-Troubles-Northern-Ireland-history , accessed
17.12.2022
9
BBC News, https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-61968177 , accessed 17.12.2022
dr Agnieszka Syliwoniuk-Wapowska

Nowadays both countries are allies, and are for the most part acting in accordance and jointly
in economic and political cooperation. The United Kingdom remains Ireland's biggest import
partner, and both states are part of a Common Travel Area (despite the UK’s withdrawal from
the European Union)10. The Irish-British relations are nowadays an important part of Ireland’s
diplomacy as a whole. Through the joint effort of both states peace has been achieved in the
region and nowadays the two countries are deeply connected to each other, the
Dublin-London being the second busiest international air route in the world11.

The second thing which we wanted to focus on as part of Ireland’s public diplomacy
is Saint Patrick’s Day, many people’s first association which comes to mind when Ireland is
mentioned. In order to understand why this day in particular, which could easily be dismissed
as just a simple celebration or party, is so important that it is mentioned alongside of
something as ‘serious’ as the Northern Ireland conflict, Ireland’s fight for independence or
even the country’s diaspora, we need to first and foremost be aware of the history,
background, traditions and finally, today’s context of this feast day.
St. Patrick’s Day is an annual celebration happening on the 17th of March, the traditional date
of death of Saint Patrick who lived in the fifth century and is the patron saint of Ireland and
its national apostle. He is credited with bringing Christianity as a religion to Ireland and its
people. People have started to celebrate Saint Patrick as a feast day in the Roman Catholic
Church as early as the 10th century, however, it was not up until the early 17th century that
the first large-scale parade for St. Patrick’s Day was held. Interestingly enough, it did not
happen in Ireland, but in America, on the 17th of March 1601 .12A century after the first
parade, nostalgic and homesick Irish soldiers around New York City marched as well. With
this, the interest and enthusiasm for the holiday grew among the Irish diaspora along the
North American continent and more and more cities joined in celebrating the patron saint of
the people’s home country. What this means is that the holiday is as widely spread today
because of the Irish immigrants around the world, particularly in the United States.
Over the years, there was a rise of so-called “Irish Aid” societies which were a direct
consequence of the growing Irish patriotism among the migrants situated in the United States.
It was exactly these societies which decided to unite their individual parades into one official
big St. Patrick’s Day parade held in New York City in 1848 which finally marks the
beginning of the long withstanding tradition of annual parades.
There is a reason why this essay choses to focus on the details surrounding the history of St.
Patrick’s Day and that is because it is exactly in the history where we can find why this day
holds such a power for the Irish and Ireland to this day and why it is such an important tool of
its public diplomacy. The fact that the nowadays well known and, arguably, beloved

10
The Central Statistics Office,
https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-ti/irelandstradeingoods2020/toptradingpartners/ , accessed
17.12.2022
11
Embassy of Ireland in Great Britain, Irish diplomacy in a globalised world,
a talk delivered at the University of Kent on 2 February 2015,
https://www.dfa.ie/irish-embassy/great-britain/news-and-events/2015/irish-diplomacy-in-a-globalised-world/,
accessed 17.12.2022
12
History, History of St. Patrick’s Day https://www.history.com/topics/st-patricks-day/history-of-st-patricks-day,
accessed: 12.12.2022
dr Agnieszka Syliwoniuk-Wapowska

celebration of the holiday of St. Patrick’s originated among the Irish immigrants in the United
States of America says a lot about its meaning and significance. After the Great Potato
Famine hit Ireland in 1845, more than one million poor and largely uneducated Irish nationals
(most of them Catholic which is also important to remember) relocated to the American
continent in order to escape the famine and troubles at home. However, as it often happens
with migration, even in the ‘modern’ times of the 21st century, yet alone in the 19th century,
the immigrants were met with despise and unacceptance from the local American Protestant
population, as to them, the Irish had an unknown and strange religion different than theirs and
accents which were largely incomprehensible. Many of the Irish had no jobs at all and more
‘prestigious’ job options were out of the table for most of them.13 However, when the
immigrants took it to the streets each March 17 for St. Patrick’s Day to celebrate their home
country, their heritage and their culture (which was often met with laughter, jokes and
harmful stereotypes portraying the Irish as violent, heavy alcoholics), they realised that they
had large and even growing numbers which they could easily take advantage of in order to
position themselves not as exploited victims of the cruel system as they had been until that
point, but rather they realised that they are presented with a political power which they had
not taken advantage of yet. They started to unionise and organise themselves into political
parties and political entities of different kinds which quickly rose to have a serious influence
over the American political scene, with their voting bloc, known as the “green machine”
becoming an important vote in major playoffs. And just like that, Saint Patrick’s day was not
just a celebration anymore, nor just a show off for the Irish culture and heritage, but a show
of Irish power and influence as well.
Although St. Patrick’s Day began as a religious holiday and still is regarded as such to a
certain extent, most experts and people in general would agree that nowadays, its meaning is
secular and the cultural aspect of it is put on the forefront. Although the holiday’s
significance for spreading knowledge of the Irish nation, culture and heritage is undisputed,
there is not rarely a certain scepticism from the Irish point of view as to what role in public
diplomacy St. Patrick’s Day really plays. The question is not anymore whether Irish culture is
represented, but how it is done so. “Some people love/hate Saint Patrick’s Day as the biggest
day of the year on which we get to sell our little island to the world’s big hitters and convince
them to continue doing business with us and visiting our shores.”14 writes Frances Mulraney
for the “Irish Central” in their article originally published in 2018, edited in January 2022.
The sentiment presented in the quote, along with its irony and cynicism, is common when it
comes to discussion concerning the feast day, especially in the last years. However, the Irish
government and Irish embassies around the world do not possess neither the scepticism nor
the irony when it comes to St. Patrick’s Day meaning for Ireland’s public diplomacy: “A
great deal has been achieved in restoring Ireland’s global reputation in the last few years. This
week gives us another enormous opportunity to go out and talk about our progress, our plans
for the future, our culture, our innovative companies, our great food and drink and all the
reasons people should come and see Ireland for themselves.”, said the Tánaiste and Minister

13
History, How St. Patrick’s Day Took on a New Life in America
https://www.history.com/news/st-patricks-day-origins-america, accessed: 12.12.2022
14
Irish Central, What is the real meaning of Saint Patrick’s Day?,
https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/history/real-meaning-saint-patricks-day, accessed: 12.12.2022
dr Agnieszka Syliwoniuk-Wapowska

for Foreign Affairs and Trade Eamon Gilmore for his article written in 2014 for Ireland’s
Department of Foreign Affairs, conveniently titled “What Did St. Patrick’s Day Ever Do For
Us?”.
Despite the valid cynicism surrounding the holiday, its importance is undoubted and
undisputed. Speaking in terms of what it does for Ireland’s public diplomacy, the sheer fact
that it is probably the most well known example of the country’s culture as a whole cannot
and must not be omitted. St. Patrick’s Day represents, for centuries now, an unmissable
opportunity to represent Ireland worldwide, often more successfully than the Irish diplomats
do. The ambassadors or diplomats by themselves could never arrange for the London Eye, the
Sydney Opera House or the Pyramids to be lit up in green, but they are able to do so because
of the power Saint Patrick’s Day has and its widespread importance. What the Irish
government or the Irish diplomats can not always do, they can do during the holiday:
showcase the work of Irish scientists, politicians, tech companies, artists, launch campaigns
and programs concerning the diaspora, promote trade and investment, give interviews, talk
about tourism etc. In short, during St. Patrick’s Day, it is impossible not to listen to whatever
Ireland has to say. Who does not think of Ireland when they see emerald clothes or when they
drink Guinness beer? It is a holiday which is one of the best worldwide examples to
immediately understand what public diplomacy even means.
The last thing this essay will focus on, which was touched upon a bit in the previous
section, is the Irish diaspora and the very critical role it plays in Ireland’s public diplomacy
and how it helps widespread Ireland as a country and nation and its visions and values.
“Most countries send out oil or iron, steel or gold, or some other crop, but Ireland has had
only one export and that is its people15”, famously said John. F. Kennedy during his
presidential visit to Ireland in June 1963. Ireland has had a long history of emigration (which
the essay will discuss as well), which means that it has one of the largest state/diaspora
population ratios not just in Europe, but worldwide.16 It has been estimated that since
1700/1800, more than ten million men, women, children and others have left their home
country of Ireland and decided to settle permanently elsewhere in the world. If we talk about
that number, it is about twice as much as the country’s current population which is estimated
to be around five million, but more devastating than that is the fact is that the number of the
current Irish diaspora is larger than the population of Ireland at its peak before the Great
Potato Famine in 1845. Moreover, today more than 70 million people all around the globe
associate themselves with Irish ancestry, most of them living in the United States of America,
where after German, Irish is the second most prominent ancestry.17

While these large numbers stem from, to a certain extent, trauma, it is an undisputed fact that
they have shaped the contemporary diplomatic and foreign relations of Ireland. The country
maintains certain bonds and networks across the world which are under the direct influence
of the diaspora living in the given state. To quote Ireland’s former Minister for the Diaspora

15
University College Cork, Ireland, Irish Emigration History, https://www.ucc.ie/en/emigre/history/, accessed:
13.12.2022
16
UCD Clinton Institute, Diaspora: Diplomacy: Development,
https://www.ucdclinton.ie/research-diaspora/template-dias, accessed: 13.12.2022
17
Aeon, The Irish Diaspora, https://aeon.co/essays/the-irish-experience-and-the-meaning-of-modern-diaspora,
accessed: 13.12.2022
dr Agnieszka Syliwoniuk-Wapowska

and International Development, “the values at the heart of Ireland’s development policy are
deeply rooted in our country’s collective memory, in our history of famine and migration.”

Diasporas around the world are often used as a very successful tool for promoting the country
they come from, but when it comes to a diaspora as large as the Irish one, the situation is a bit
different, or to put it more precisely, the diaspora is even more influential and therefore, more
powerful. In this case, the emigrants do not contribute only to the promotion and marketing
of their home, but they contribute to a great extent to Ireland’s economic development and
additionally, they are important stakeholders in international development.

But, the question which arises is, why is the Irish diaspora so large and what happened in
order for there to be so much emigration from Ireland? According to many sources, the
beginning of the continuous relentless waves of emigration from Ireland can be traced back to
the 18th century. Between the years of 1700 and 1776, about 100 000 emigrants settled in the
mainland American colonies, and after the Paris Peace Treaty in 1783, 100 000 more came to
the North American continents as well. This was all before the Great Potato Famine, which
the essay mentioned previously 4as well, widely known as the most crucial moment for
Ireland’s emigration story. The reason for these mass numbers stem from several reasons, the
most obvious one being the fact all around the country, especially in the rural areas, the
opportunities for finding a proper job and employment of any kind were scarce and it was
nearly impossible to be able to acquire land. After the Great Famine was finished, more
people left the country, with about 3 million moving to the United States, 300 000 to
Australia and New Zealand, 200 000 to Canada and quite naturally, around a million moved
to Great Britain as well. At that point, about two out of five Irish-borns were living outside of
Europe. The rate of emigration from Ireland has slowed down in the 21st century, but the
Irish diaspora remains big in number. In this case, numbers mean power, as the emigrants
have a strong sense of community among themselves and have tended to unite and organise
common activities, policies and events, ever since the New York St. Patrick’s Day parades
spoken about before. This leads us to the Irish diaspora’s emergence as one of the main
players in diplomacy and development.

Article 2 of The Constitution of Ireland states: “The Irish nation cherishes its special affinity
with people of Irish ancestry living abroad who share its cultural identity and heritage.” In the
country’s most important text, the enormous importance which the diaspora has is clearly
underlined. In one of his speeches in 201918, Minister Simon Coveney says: “The Diaspora
has also given Ireland a strong voice in the countries where you have made your home – and,
consequently, a stronger voice in the world.” In one sentence, he underlines the fact that the
diaspora is not valuable just because countries should care about its own people everywhere
in the world, but in addition to that, that the diaspora is also a useful tool for the country’s
public diplomacy, the Irish people around the globe being important diplomats themselves,
without working in an embassy. Coveney mentioned the Irish in Milwaukee (whose
population has a large percentage of Irish) as one of the most successful examples of the

18
Department of Foreign Affairs, The Irish Diaspora - its importance,
https://www.dfa.ie/ie/nuacht-agus-na-meain/oraidi/speeches-archive/2019/aug/the-irish-diaspora--its-importance
-1.php, accessed: 13.12.2022
dr Agnieszka Syliwoniuk-Wapowska

diaspora contributing to their new country while also contributing to Ireland as well.
Although there have been many politicians and prominent figures of Irish descent shaping the
current situation of Milwaukee19 (Cornelius Corconan, William O’Donnell, Daniel Webster
Hoan etc.), they have in addition to that, always been very active in helping their home
country. Even during the Great Potato Famine, they have been organising themselves and
raising awareness of the situation in Ireland, as well as collecting funds for famine relief, or
even supporting youth programmes such as the Ulster Project. The material manifestation of
the Irish diaspora’s work in Milwaukee is the annual Milwaukee Irish Fest, sometimes
referred to as the ‘largest festival of Irish culture in the world’.

The government of Ireland is aware of the influence which the diaspora has around the world
in promoting the country and its values, which is why they have a Diaspora Policy and
Diaspora Strategy, both of which are constantly updated and worked on. The last Diaspora
Strategy was published in 2020 and it sets out the government’s plans of supporting, helping
and promoting its emigrants around the world in the following five years. The document
20
begins with a quote from President Michael D. Heggings: ‘Our diaspora is one of Ireland’s
greatest resources: through the contribution our people make to the nations they migrate to;
through the bonds they forge with the peoples of those countries, our migrants have allowed
Ireland to have global connections far beyond our size.” With that, the diaspora in Ireland’s
public diplomacy cements itself as one its greatest tools.

3. Conclusions
Ireland has gone a long way to assert its place in the international arena. Throughout
its complicated history it was being subjected and colonised by its stranger neighbours. The
sorrows such as the Great Potato Famine are scars that the nation remembers to this day. A
major talent of the Irish is to continue striving even though the situation may seem hopeless.
It cannot be forgotten that even such horrific events were transformed into something
beneficial to Irish society. The diaspora now accounting millions of people has proven to be a
great tool for diplomacy and serves the small country as a reserve of great patriotic sentiment
overseas. The Irish culture and its famous celebrations such as St. Patrick's Day, though they
might appear silly, are in fact a vital element of the strategy of the nation. After all it is a great
success that only a handful of great powers can boast from - to have one's element of folklore
and culture observed all around the world. It is a source of great pride for the island country
of 5 million people. Smaller states have always faced difficulties in the international arena
because they are unable to fully control their surroundings. Some decide to form alliances in
order to lessen their vulnerability. Ireland views the European Union as the main tool for
promoting its foreign policy objectives. The United Nations, the Council of Europe, and the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe are just a few examples of the
multilateral forums that it partakes in. It also places a high priority on our bilateral ties with
major and friendly nations, with the UK being possibly the most prominent of these. Ireland
aspires to use the power of its diaspora and engage in cultural diplomacy in order to
safeguard Ireland's position in the modern world, drawing on its unique national experience.

19
Encyclopaedia of Milwaukee, Irish, https://emke.uwm.edu/entry/irish/, accessed: 13.12.2022
20
https://www.dfa.ie/media/globalirish/Diaspora-Strategy-2020-English.pdf
dr Agnieszka Syliwoniuk-Wapowska

When it comes to the United Kingdom, Ireland’s main partner, because of their extensive
trade, close proximity, shared position as islands in the European Union before Britain's exit,
shared language, and strong cultural and personal ties, political developments in the two
countries frequently coincide and will most probably continue to do so in the coming years.
dr Agnieszka Syliwoniuk-Wapowska

References

Documents
Constitution of Ireland of 1 July 1937, pre 1998 amendments

Monographs
Daibhi O Croinin, Longman History of Ireland. Vol. 1, London 1995. pp. 110.

Articles and studies

G. A. Pigman, Public Diplomacy [in:] Contemporary Diplomacy, Polity Press,
Cambridge, 2010, p. 121
Embassy of Ireland, Great Britain, Irish diplomacy in a globalised world, a talk delivered at
the University of Kent on 2 February 2015,
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dr Agnieszka Syliwoniuk-Wapowska

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