Why Ireland needs its ministers to stroll in the world's 'St Patty's Day' parade 

Taoiseach Micheál Martin poses for a photo with Irish Ambassador Daniel Mulhall, third left, members of Tourism Ireland and cast members of 'Riverdance' during a reception event at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.

Thursday should have been a big day for Micheál Martin, both personally and politically.

It was to be the first time in 12 years that a Fianna Fáil Taoiseach set foot in the Oval Office after Covid cancelled the annual trip to the White House last year - a positive Covid test has robbed Mr Martin of that opportunity and it will have to be another virtual meeting with Joe Biden.

"Meeting President Biden is not about getting anything out of it in one sense, because it's going to be first of all a pleasant meeting of one Irishman with another Irishman," Mr Martin said ahead of the positive Covid test result.

Since touching down in Washington on Monday night Mr Martin has already enjoyed a Riverdance show, met the lads from Stripe, unveiled a bust of John Hume and attended the $1,000-a-head Ireland Funds gala dinner.

This year our Taoiseach, Attorney General as well as ministers and ministers of state, are jetting off to destinations across the globe from New Zealand to Colombia, as well as multiple European countries and US states as part of 33 high-level visits abroad.

It is easy to dismiss the annual world tour as a junket where the Guinness flows, the rivers run green and leprechaun hats and clichés come out in force, but other countries must look on with envy as our political representatives get welcomed into rooms which others have to lobby hard to just knock on the door of.

St Patrick's Day provides the Government with an unparalleled opportunity to network and build trade, tourism, economic, educational, agricultural and political links.

Earn their keep

While walking in the local 'Patty's Day parade' is almost always on the itinerary, our ministers abroad, just like in years gone by, will be expected to earn their keep this year.

"When the ambassador gets a minister or a minister of state into a country, they work them to the bone because it's an opportunity for them to promote their objectives," said independent TD Seán Canney, who served in the previous government.

He travelled to China and Hong Kong in 2017, where hammering out a beef trade deal and lobbying for more airline routes was top of the list of priorities.

"I spent eight days over there. They were eight long, hard days promoting Ireland in China and Hong Kong. It involved meeting with Irish people who were doing business in China; visiting universities where we have Irish schools and we were promoting student exchanges between China which is very beneficial to our universities," he said.

While the trips are gruelling, Mr Canny said it is a huge honour to represent the country abroad and the dividends can be seen after.

"I had meetings at that time with Department of Agriculture officials and ministers in China in relation to the export of beef to China. About 18 months later, that agreement was put in place. I was part of the overall process."

Planning of the St Patrick’s Day programme begins towards the end of the previous calendar year; experiences from the St Patrick’s Day programme are shared as missions report back to HQ in the Department of Foreign Affairs immediately after the conclusion of visits.

"St Patrick’s Day provides an opportunity to promote Ireland’s interests overseas, with levels of publicity and media attention unmatched by the national day of any other country," a Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said.

'Team Ireland approach'

The department adopts a "collaborative, Team Ireland approach" to the St Patrick’s Day trips and this is "crucial to developing targeted and impactful programmes and events, and to securing high-level meetings with key political leaders, business leaders, decision makers, influencers and stakeholders across the world".

Ministerial delegations often include representatives from the likes of the IDA, Bord Bia, Tourism Ireland or other State bodies, depending on the focus of the trip.

For example, this year IDA Ireland chief executive Martin Shanahan is travelling to the UK and the US to meet with clients, attend business events and undertake international media engagements.

Former Labour TD Kathleen Lynch remembers the 6am starts and late nights during her trip to Vietnam when she was in Government.

The main focus of her trip was to lure international students to Ireland and officials from both UCC and some of the hospital groups joined her on the mission.

"We were hugely successful in getting people and the Vietnamese government paid for their students to come do their masters here," she said.

"A foreign student coming into the country brings vast amounts of money and are usually paid for by their governments.

"It's something you wouldn't associate with St Patrick's Day, but really that's the type of thing it's about," she said.