In Scotland's 'Little Ireland', President Catherine Connolly feels very much at home

Catherine Connolly meets with students to discuss anti-racism actions and meets with members of the Irish diaspora as part of her  visit to Scotland

President Catherine Connolly at Glasgow City Chambers during her visit to Scotland. Picture: Tony Maxwell

As rain fell on the roof of St Patrick's Parish Hall in Coatbridge, President Catherine Connolly remarked that while she may have been in Scotland, it felt a lot like being back in Galway.

"I feel very at home today with the rain," she told the crowd.

Members of the Irish diaspora had gathered in the hall, around 20 minutes from Glasgow, to hear the President speak about the positive contribution immigration can make to society.

It is a message that resonates in Coatbridge. By 1851, a quarter of the town's population was Irish-born, earning it the nickname "Little Ireland".

President Connolly at Glasgow City Chambers meeting with Jacqueline McLaren, Lord Provost and Lord Lieutenant of Glasgow, during her visit to Scotland. Picture: Tony Maxwell

Those ties remain visible today. The nearby St Patrick's Catholic Primary School looks as though it could have been lifted from any town between Bantry and Athenry and dropped into the Scottish countryside.

The walls of the school hall are lined with the 14 Stations of the Cross, a poster of St Patrick hangs from a door, and pupils play GAA as part of their PE curriculum.

As she spoke in the parish hall, Ms Connolly’s message was clear, outlining how Irish immigrants had made a positive lasting impact in towns like Coatbridge and across Scotland.

“[It] shines a light on the many ways in which immigrant communities add to their new homes,” said Ms Connolly.

“At a time when the dominant narrative seeks to impose distinctions on the basis of them and us, restricting and impoverishing our language and thought process, the brave immigrants who arrived here all those years ago are a powerful example to us.”

The anti-racist message from Ms Connolly came just hours after she visited Glasgow City Chambers. On a tour of the marble council buildings, she was invited to meet with a group of Scottish teenagers.

They had been gathered in the hall as part of a visit by multiple schools to discuss tackling racism, with workshops on how best to deal with the scourge in their schools and communities.

One 15-year-old student, Crystal Brakoa, said the discussions were focused on finding the “root cause” of racism and ways to inoculate against it in schools and communities, through programmes like culture weeks.

Fourteen-year-old Leah Caldwell said there had been a rise in hate and discrimination against people.

“We are witnessing a different change in ways people are treating each other in a negative way. But I think we're also here to focus on the positive side,” said Leah.

Ms Connolly told the students that young people need to need the change into the future and how “diversity is our power”.

“It enables and empowers us, and we need to cherish diversity in all its forms.”

It was a theme she returned to in Coatbridge parish hall, describing how residents in the town have managed to straddle their two identities: Irish and Scottish.

Ms Connolly said this contains a message for all multicultural communities and that people should “champion the wonderful gift that diversity brings us in all its guises”.

In her inaugural speech as President, Ms Connolly described how she wanted to see a Republic where “everyone is valued and diversity is cherished”, making it clear that her pushback against anti-migrant rhetoric will continue in the years ahead.