Irish Government isn’t doing enough to bolster trade with China

It is unusual to see Molly Malone push her barrow in Beijing, instead of Dublin. But there she is in the capital city of China.

Irish culture has had a far reaching influence on America, Canada and Australia. But Irish culture has been popular also in Asia, in particular Japan. This has been in part thanks to the International Association for the Study of Irish Literature (IASIL). The annual Irish Literature Translation Prize receives a phenomenal response in China.

Gaelport has been the driving force for Irish studies abroad. Under the Irish Language Fund for Third Level Institutions Overseas scheme, Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) has offered Irish language study since 2010; it also hosts other modules including culture and society, business, economics and foreign relations. The BFSU Irish Studies Centre is also joined by Shanghai’s Irish Studies Programme in the Shanghai Institute of Foreign Trade and the Beijing-Dublin International College, a joint venture of UCD and Beijing University of Technology was opened in 2013. These institutions along with the James Joyce societies in Japan and elsewhere are important for incorporating economic ties with cultural ties.