Irish Diaspora in Britain

Steven Bonnar Excerpts

Thursday 17th March 2022 Commons Chamber

[Steven Bonnar (Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill) (SNP)]

Go raibh maith agat, Madam Deputy Speaker —thank you very much. I, too, wish all right hon. and hon. Members and also all my constituents across Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill a very happy St Patrick’s day.

We all know that Ireland is Scotland’s closest neighbour and relation, and our often shared heritage and our historical bond run as deep today as the Rivers Clyde and Liffey combined. We in Scotland value immensely the relationship between us and our Irish brothers and sisters, and our bond remains ever strong.

The histories of the peoples of Ireland and Scotland are closely intertwined, with our stories of migration taking many forms at different times over the centuries. Whether Scottish or Irish, chances are we are all immigrants. Place names and family names and our traditions across both our lands are an ever-present reminder of our interlocked Gaelic past and, more importantly, our shared futures together.

My own family surname comes from an Irish heritage, and my roots can be traced back to County Donegal, itself an Irish county with its own unique story, being geographically in the north of Ireland but part of the 26 counties that make up the rest of the island. Today, my ties to Ireland allow me to visit frequently; just last week I was fortunate enough to be in the town of Drogheda, County Louth. The reason for that trip was to partake in one of those old Scottish and Irish traditions we share, wetting the baby’s head, as we welcomed Finn Martin Murphy into this world—born of a Scottish mother and an Irish father, so it is safe to say the connections between our families and countries are safe for at least another generation.

While there, I took the opportunity to visit the site of the Battle of the Boyne in Drogheda—a truly historic place that can be appreciated regardless of faith, creed or political persuasion. The profound consequences of the battle reverberate to this day in the to-ing and fro-ing over the withdrawal agreement and the Northern Ireland protocol, but it is always worth remembering there is far more that unites us than separates us. I was also able to indulge in Ireland’s greatest export, Guinness. I extend my gratitude to those kind persons of the St Laurence’s Club at McHughs for their warm hospitality. As they say in Ireland, the craic was 90.

Both Scotland and Ireland are nations who have stood strong through both glory and tragedy, from the creation of Saint Columba’s monastery on the Isle of Iona—the Irish saint also lends his name to my local parish in my constituency—to the tragedies of the Scottish highland clearances and an Gorta Mór, the great famine in Ireland, which saw so many perish and thousands of Scots and Irish move between these lands. Millions of people worldwide today can trace their descendants back to these tough, resilient Irish and Scottish survivors.

The 2011 Scottish census revealed that almost 11,000 Irish citizens were living in Scotland, and Coatbridge in my constituency is long renowned in both Scotland and Ireland for its Irish diaspora. By the same token, many of my countrypeople live across the Irish sea—15,000 in the north of Ireland alone, based on the same 2011 census. A further 57,600 people were recorded as speaking an Gaeilge, so it is no surprise that our relationship across the sea remains vibrant and is vital to Scots and Irish alike.

With the current census in Scotland ongoing, and the ramifications of Brexit never far from the minds of the Scots or the Irish, I am entirely confident that the number of Irish passport holders in Scotland will have increased sharply over the past couple of years. Such drastic impacts on our identities and outlooks as Brexit will have a profound effect on the eventual make-up of these shared islands. Despite our no longer sharing membership of the European Union, the strong and enduring foundation of the common travel area and the structures created by the Good Friday agreement provide a stable foundation for the continued development of good relations between our peoples.

Ireland has a long tradition of diaspora engagement around the world, which was reinforced by the Department of Foreign Affairs appointing its first Minister for diaspora affairs in 2014. Scotland engages her global diaspora through GlobalScot, a worldwide network of almost 800 entrepreneurial and inspirational business leaders and experts. The Scottish Government will continue that good work with Irish colleagues on common issues and shared goals, particularly on diaspora affairs, to assess where lessons can be drawn from Ireland’s experience.

There is also scope for increased exchange and partnerships between different diaspora organisations. That is something I am eager to encourage, in the hope that it will allow us to provide greater support to Irish community organisations across Scotland—a community that, it cannot go unsaid, has not always been fully accepted into Scots society by all.

However, today is about celebration—the celebration of the feast of St Patrick—and we are all a wee bit Irish today, are we not? Together across this House we celebrate our shared heritage, our music, our traditions and our culture.