Wednesday, June 10, 2015

How I’ve used WB Yeats in my role as an Irish Ambassador


Daniel Mulhall, irishtimes.com

Ireland’s representative in London on using the poet to introduce Ireland around the world

Extract from article:
...
All countries aspire to gain the esteem of the community of nations, but this poses a constant challenge for smaller states like ours. There are various ways in which we present ourselves to the world, through our sustained contribution to UN peacekeeping and through the programmes run by Irish Aid, to give just two examples.

Yeats images from
Our writers and other artists form an important part of what makes Ireland attractive to so many people around the world who might otherwise have far less interest in us. I probably shouldn’t put it this way, but I have employed Yeats over the years as an instrument of public diplomacy. ...
I see Yeats as a worthy witness, particularly because he was from the start fretful and uncertain about the great changes unfolding around him.

No comments: