Happy St Patrick's Day

Or Lá Fhéile Pádraig sona duit as we like to say in Irish

A tradition as holy as St. Patrick’s Day itself. Ireland’s high political classes partake in a long-held Irish custom: they leave the country for St Patrick’s Day. This year, we sent our politicians to far flung destinations such as Tanzania, Vietnam, Chile and Utah. The Taoiseach (Prime Minister) always goes to Washington DC to chat with the sitting President and presents him with a bowl of shamrock. At the same time, the world media stares on in wonderment how a tiny Island nation on the edge of the Atlantic with a population of just over 5 million people manages to pack such a diplomatic clout.

If Ireland’s diplomatic influence were a Hollywood movie, the Irish diaspora would be the special effects budget. There are over 70 million people worldwide who claim Irish ancestry. That’s 14 times the population of Ireland itself. These people aren’t just sitting around drinking Guinness and singing “Danny Boy” (though some definitely are). They’re running businesses, writing laws, and, in…