A year of new frontiers for the Irish in Scotland

From the first civic St Patrick’s Day parade in Glasgow to an Irish Scottish space conference, this has already been a year of broken barriers in Irish-Scottish relations.

AS WE mark the conclusion of another successful St Patrick’s Day period, we can reflect on the first quarter of 2025 being a hugely consequential one for the Irish community in Scotland and for Irish Scottish relations more broadly.

Earlier this month, the first recurring civic St Patrick’s Day parade was held in Glasgow. The parade consisted of around 500 representatives of cultural, Irish dancing and musical groups from Glasgow and its surrounds, many of whom are Irish Government diaspora funding recipients such as Comhaltas and Conradh na Gaeilge. GAA clubs from across the west of Scotland, including the Chairwoman of Scotland GAA Jenn Tracey were also prominent and they were joined by the Glasgow Mary of Dungloe, Niamh Brown. I was delighted to take part in the parade alongside a number of senior Glasgow City Council members and we were joined for the final stretch of the parade by the Lord Provost of Glasgow. The parade finished at the venue hosting the annual Glasgow St Patrick’s Day Family festival, which is sponsored by Tourism Ireland.

To date the parade has received considerable coverage in local and national press, all of which has been factual, supportive and including dozens of images of those taking part. A number of opinion pieces have featured in major Scottish outlets in the period since, including The Herald and The Times. These pieces praised the organisation of the parade, the historical significance of it taking place and the impact it has had on the Irish community across Scotland.

The primary organisers, St Roch’s, were referenced for their positive role as a convening force for community and cultural groups. The band also took part in the London St Patrick’s Day parade the following week and were asked to perform on stage at Trafalgar Square. This has been referenced in multiple reports and their involvement in the London parade, as well as their achievement in being the first band from outside Ireland to win the Senior Miscellaneous title at last year’s Fleadh Cheoil in Wexford, should be a great source of pride for Scotland.

The reaction for those members of the Irish community I met during this parade (above) was one of huge satisfaction, pride and high emotion. Glasgow was regularly referred to as the largest city in the world with a large Irish diaspora to not have a regular St Patrick’s Day parade and the symbolism of hosting the first one during the city’s 850th anniversary year is hugely significant. As a celebration of the contribution and value of the Irish community to Glasgow, the impact of this parade being organised and additionally supported by the senior civic figures in the city cannot be understated.

Breaking barriers

Speaking of breaking barriers and exploring new frontiers, last month saw a space research and economy conference hosted in Glasgow between UCD and the University of Strathclyde. This event brought together Irish and Scottish companies, researchers and other relevant bodies such as the European Space Agency and the UK Space Agency. An MoU was signed between the two universities on research and innovation projects and student exchange in space-related activities which will align with the current Ireland Scotland Joint Bilateral Review.

Of specific interest in an Irish context was ongoing research between Irish and Scottish academics on the use of AI and satellite data to support and monitor peatland restoration and re-wetting and a number of Scottish based companies who are providing real world monitoring and surveillance systems for maritime traffic and shipping in exclusive economic zones. A reception for all those in attendance was kindly hosted by the Lord Provost of Glasgow and the conference was kicked off by a keynote speech delivered by Cabinet Secretary Angus Robertson.

Language lecture

February also saw the Sabhal Mòr Ostaig Annual Lecture 2025 delivered by the Director General of Ireland’s national Irish language broadcaster TG4, Alan Esslemont. Sabhal Mòr Ostaig is Scotland’s National Centre for the Gaelic Language and Culture, located on the Isle of Skye. The Consulate was approached for assistance in delivering an Irish speaker and we could think of no better person to deliver this lecture.

A fluent Irish and Gaelic speaker, he has worked across Irish language and Scots Gaelic broadcasting since the 1990s and was instrumental in the establishment and growth of TG4, BBC Alba and the Celtic Media Festival. He delivered a lecture on Minority Language Media—its value and impact; he spoke of the origins of TG4 and BBC Alba, their mandates, similarities and differences and set out his views of the future of minority language media in Ireland.

The Consulate was delighted to also support the delivery of a live stream service to allow access to those who were not able to attend in person at the college’s incredible location in Skye. The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills Jenny Gilruth visited the campus and met with Esslemont and senior management as part of his time on Skye and they discussed the rollout of Cúla4, the Irish language children station which includes interactive educational content with clear ties to the curriculum.

Meeetings and merriment

As part of our wider St Patrick’s Day programme, we were delighted to attend and host events across Scotland. We had an incredible day out in a sun soaked Coatbridge for their St Patrick’s Day Festival which is funded by the Government of Ireland’s Emigrant Support Programme.

Thousands of people took to the streets which were festooned with Irish flags, country colours, face painters, fire trucks and amusement rides. Hearing students from St Patrick's Primary school fluently sing Amhrán na bhFiann was a source of incredible pride to us. We were also incredibly proud of both the Glasgow and Edinburgh St Patrick’s Day charity balls, which between them raised tens of thousands of pounds in support for some of the most worthy causes. The generosity and energy of the Irish community to use their national day to assist those less fortunate than them is a wonderful reflection of the values that we hold dear.

Minister of State for Financial Services, Robert Troy, visited Scotland for two days as part of our 2025 St Patrick’s Day programme. He joined us at our Paddy’s Day reception hosted in Edinburgh and met with representatives of the Irish community from across Scotland as well as local political, business, sporting, and academic contacts. The reception included a panel discussion by prominent women from across the Scottish cultural sector and they were ably led by outgoing CEO of the Edinburgh Fringe Shona McCarthy.

The panel of Kim McAleese, Catriona Logan and Sophie Moxon explored the role that festivals and cultural organisations across Scotland have played in deepening Irish-Scottish links. The minister also met with the CEO of FinTech Scotland Nicola Anderson and they discussed Scottish Fintech’s current and potential links with Ireland. Edinburgh is the second largest city in the UK for the provision of financial services and is host to a significant Fintech cluster. We also met with the Scottish Government’s Minister for Public Finances Ivan McKee, whose brief includes areas such as planning reform, consumer advocacy, public finances and public sector reform. The meeting saw a very useful exploration of further collaboration between Ireland and Scotland in devolved areas of policy.

After a hugely significant and active period for the Irish community in Scotland, we are looking forward to some exciting plans in the period ahead in the area of business, sport, academia and political level links with Scotland. I will share more details of this in my next piece in The Irish Voice. In the meantime, beir bua agus beannacht!

Jerry O’Donovan is the Consul General of Ireland in Scotland