G’Day from Gary Gray

AUSTRALIA’S AMBASSADOR IN IRELAND

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HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY AND ST PATRICK’S DAY 2021

@ausembire

Australian Embassy, Ireland

@AusEmbIre

The 26th of January 2021 is a significant date for Australians in Ireland, as much as St Patrick’s Day 2021. 2021 marks 80 years since Robert Gordon Menzies, our longest serving Prime Minister visited Eamon De Valera in Dublin, and 75 years since the establishment of formal relations between the Government of Australia and the then soon-to-be proclaimed Irish Republic. The creation of diplomatic relations in 1946 was illustrative of the deep and very personal ties between our two island nations which have continued for almost two and a half centuries. Much has happened in the last 75 years. We have seen the world evolve in an unprecedented way; witnessing the first missions into outer space, hundreds of millions of people lifted out of poverty, the proliferation of democratic institutions across much of the world, the establishment of the United Nations Security Council, of which Australia was a founding member and onto which Ireland soon takes its rightful place as a member for the next two years. Australia Day acts as both a day of celebration and a day of reflection for many Australians: celebrating the modern and open democracy we have become, while acknowledging the pained history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island peoples of Australia who remain uniquely connected in culture and in history to the land. Indeed, since the First Fleet arrived in Australia in 1788, Ireland has left an indelible mark on Australian society and created one of the most established Irish immigrant communities anywhere in the world. 11% of Australians claimed Irish ancestry in the 2016 census – the second largest grouping on our continent, and the newest wave of Irish immigration has meant that almost 80,000 people who were born in Ireland live in Australia today. These long standing and significant ties have influenced our value system and created an interconnectedness that permeates every aspect of relations between our two nations. From prime ministers and premiers, priests, pastoralists, and poets; medics, winemakers, inventors and musicians - as well as the occasional bushranger - Australian history is in part, Irish The Australian Rock Show continues with our weekly Aussie rock bonanza hosted by the ‘Thunder from Down Under’, Gaz and Taz history. The Irish have shaped Australia’s public life. Former Australian Prime Ministers Bob Hawke and Paul Keating, former New South Wales Premier John Fahey, Minister Susan Ryan and the first female Australian Minister, the Hon Margaret Guilfoyle (born in Belfast) - all celebrated their Irish heritage. The influence of Irish Australians on Aussie culture continues. A number of Australian Football League Premiership players are testament to this enduring connection in addition to a number of other notable influences such as;

The team at the embassy celebrating Australia Day

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce, former Australian of the year Prof Patrick McGorry, WIFI inventor Dr John O’Sullivan and former Chief Justice of Australia, Sir Gerard Brennan are all examples of the continuing Irish influence on Australia. The Irish in Australia will be celebrating St Patrick’s Day in a much more traditional way than us Australians in Ireland – at the pub. With COVID-19 infections still at an alarming level in Ireland, this is the second year Irish national day celebrations have been put on hold. Again this year, Australians in Ireland will connect with their Irish friends and family to celebrate via ‘zoom’ instead of a cozy pub that is such an important part of Ireland’s social fabric. The last 12 months have been difficult for both our countries. Last year, at this time the people of Ireland gave generously to help Australian communities as we worked to recover flora, fauna and livelihoods destroyed in the horrific bushfires. The recovery needed to be significant and the Irish people ensured that it was a truly global response as they backed relief efforts through the Irish Red Cross and for that we are extremely grateful. With the advent of COVID-19, we have seen Irish nurses and doctors working in Australian hospitals and many of their Australian counterparts doing the same here in Ireland. We share in the optimism of the Irish people as March comes to an end and the days are brighter and longer, that the year ahead will see us connect with each other again in the ways that we all know and love. From the Australian Embassy’s vantage point on St. Stephen’s Green we have seen the incredible effort from Irish people and businesses in continuing to operate under the most strenuous of circumstances, and we anticipate being welcomed back into cafés, restaurants, bars, pubs and clubs as the year progresses towards normality. We have seen renewed global cooperation and collaboration to beat the virus that has hurt so many. It is in this context that open democracies and open economies such as Australia and Ireland must work together to safeguard the freedoms that make our lives great. Climate change is now, and has been for some time, irrefutable. In Australia we have seen firsthand what this has meant, and it is why we are moving fast. We have reduced our total emissions by almost 17 per cent since 2005 and are on track to meet and beat our 2030 target of 26-28 per cent below 2005 levels. But addressing the planetary impact of human activity is for us all, not for any one region of the planet. As we come together to face growing global threats, Australia remains steadfast in its climate commitments as part of the 2015 Paris Agreement, and we look forward to the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow later this year to review global progress and if deemed necessary, strengthen our commitments to safeguard our planet for future generations. With a renewed optimism for 2021, Ireland and the world will be able to look outwards again to address climate change and seek renewed opportunity in global free trade, prosperity and equality. For the team here at the Australian Embassy in Ireland, we live and work in a truly interconnected world working with the Irish Embassy in Canberra and the terrific Austrian-Irish diaspora and network in Australia. We encourage everyone with an interest in Aussies in Ireland to connect with us across social media channels this St Patrick’s Day as we remember and celebrate the influence Ireland and Australia has had in building the international institutions that promote collective action and celebrate the great Irish women and men who helped along the way.

THE HON GARY GRAY AO