Bloomsday at the Irish Embassy

Fintan O'Toole, the Literary Editor of the Irish Times, talking at the Irish Embassy about James Joyce, as part of the celebration for "Bloomsday".

As usual at this Embassy, a splendid party followed, illustrating an aspect of the Scottish independence debate which is rarely discussed: the diplomatic angle. Ireland promotes Ireland very effectively through its Embassy here in Moscow. Scotland not only does not have an embassy, it has the misfortune of having to be presented by the cliquish and rather unfriendly British Embassy.

There might be arguments for that if embassy business these days were still leader-to-leader. But with the G8 meeting again this week, and given modern communications, I believe the work of embassies is shifting more towards the promotion of trade and the marketing of culture, both of which can better be done by smaller more friendly embassies than large power-broker-style ones. The Irish Embassy, especially under the present (and sadly soon to be departing) Ambassador, the poet Philip McDonagh (The Song the Oriole Sang is his most recent book), has been particularly successful at this.

I look forward to seeing more consideration of external factors in the Scottish independence debate and less focus on short-term internal issues.