Victorian Premier John Brumby delivers his speech to the IACC Breakfast in Melbourne on March 17.

Speech by Victorian Premier John Brumby, MP, delivered at the Irish Australian Chamber of Commerce (IACC), Melbourne, on Wednesday, March 17.

“I want to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we are gathered, and pay my respects to their Elders past and present.

I am honoured to be here this morning to help you celebrate St Patrick’s Day.

At the outset, let me acknowledge the great work of the Irish Australian Chamber of Commerce in building stronger business links between Australia and Ireland.

St Patrick’s Day is undoubtedly Australia’s favourite non-Australian national day. In fact, it is no exaggeration to say that on this day – every year – millions of Australians lay claim to an Irish ancestry.

No matter that those Australians originate from other places and have never once set foot on Irish soil – and no matter that a Guinness or a Kilkenny has never passed their lips.

A little bit of Irish, it seems, is something to which we all aspire!

Given that, I think it is entirely appropriate that I lay out my Irish credentials for you.

My great, great grandfather on my mother’s side was an Irishman. His name was James O’Neill – and he was a teacher in regional Victoria. In fact, he was the first Head Teacher at Seymour Primary School, which opened for business in November 1857.

But my family’s ties to Ireland are a lot stronger than that – thanks, in large part, to my wife Rosemary.

Although she is a McKenzie, her grandmother was an O’Dwyer – and her great grandfather – Patrick Michael O’Dwyer – was born in Tipperary. And her father grew up in Axedale, near Bendigo – which was a large Irish farming community where he was surrounded by O’Briens, O’Dwyers and Hawkins’.

We also have more recent Irish connections.

My eldest daughter – Elizabeth – attended Trinity College last year and Rosemary and I were lucky enough to spend some time with her in Dublin.And I have to tell you, that a lasting impression of that visit was undoubtedly our very first Irish taxi experience.

As we left the airport Rosemary realised her mobile was flat and she was eager to see if there were any messages from the family back home. So she asked our taxi driver whether he knew of anywhere with a mobile charger.

No sooner had she asked, than he lent forward, reached under his seat and surfaced with about a dozen different chargers.

‘Take your pick’, he said.  And sure enough, one of them was compatible.

Now that’s what you call an Irish connection!

Speaking of Irish connections, and noting that part of this breakfast will be broadcast to the USA, I noted that a few months ago the Irish Echo reported that a certain John Kearney, who was a 19th century Bishop – the Bishop of Ossory in fact – was a distant grand-uncle of none other than Barack Obama.

And it seems that Obama is extremely pleased about this – and very interested in discovering more about his Irish roots. He has expressed a desire to travel to Ireland soon – no doubt, to catch up with his long lost family.

So even an American President – one with a Kenyan father, a white American mother and an Indonesian upbringing – has Irish blood and is undoubtedly an international citizen.

Like so many Victorians, I am also surrounded by Irish names on a daily basis.

My chief-of-Staff is an O’Brien… my principal advisor is an O’Connor… and my multicultural advisor is a Boland

In fact, I remember at an International Rules match at the MCG in 2008, Máirtín Ó Fainín – the Irish Ambassador to Australia – remarking how surprised he was that so many members of the Irish team had Australian names!

It was a funny line – but hardly surprising given that the Irish have become such an integral part of the Australian story.

There are now around six million Australians with an Irish heritage – and their legacy is significant, especially in Melbourne where Irish Australians have helped build one of the world’s great cities.

For example: Although not widely known, the meeting place of the very first Parliament of Victoria was held at the Irish Melburnians St Patrick’s Hall in 1851.

The University of Melbourne was shaped by its association with Trinity College – and its first Chancellor Sir Redmond Barry.

Barry also founded the Melbourne Mechanics Institute and helped create the State Library of Victoria – one of our truly great institutions.

And consider this – Irish Australians have risen to the highest office in the land – Arthur Fadden, James Scullen, Joseph Lyons, Ben Chifley, John Curtin and Paul Keating were all Australian Prime Ministers during the 20th Century. And William Deane became one of our most respected Governors-General in 1996.

And, of course, Irish Australians have not only achieved high office – they have also taken out some of our highest honours.

I want to take this opportunity to congratulate our new Australian of the Year – Professor Patrick McGorry – who is here with us today – congratulations, Patrick.

Today, our ties with Ireland are as strong as ever.

I remember travelling to Ireland in my capacity as Treasurer in the early years of our government to build stronger trade and investment links with Victoria. It was a successful trip and I will never forget the hospitality of the Irish during my time there.

The latest figures (2008-09) show that while two-way trade in goods between Victoria and Ireland remains modest at around $250 million, we are seeing good growth in investment and in two-way tourism.

For example, in 2008-09, we had 13,120 Irish people here on working holiday visas. Given that Etihad Airlines now offer direct flights to Dublin, I expect trade and investment to grow and more Victorians to holiday in Ireland and vice-versa.

But let me return to the theme of the Irish contribution to Australia, and in particular a quality that I believe the people of both countries share.

And that quality can be best summed up as a ‘healthy irreverence’.

Irish author Brendan Behan once said of his people: ‘It’s not that the Irish are cynical. It’s rather that they have a wonderful lack of respect for everything and everybody’.

What Behan is driving at is this.

The Irish, like so many Australians, judge people on their deeds, not their words. Respect needs to be earned.

For example, both Australians and the Irish have little time for any sort of pretension or humbug and for those who take themselves too seriously.

We are indeed egalitarian at heart – in Ireland and in Australia.

And if, as Mark Twain noted: ‘Irreverance is the champion of liberty and its only sure defence… then it helps explain our larrikinism, our love of the underdog and our sense of justice and fairness which is so much a part of the Australian ethos’.

Take that great Irish gadfly of the English establishment – Oscar Wilde.

When the English banned his plays in 1895, one place they were still performed was right here in Australia – and they were enthusiastically attended.

At the height of the scandal, The Importance of Being Earnest opened in Melbourne to a full house and was attended by Sir John Madden – our acting Governor at the time – and his wife, Lady Madden.

Apparently, at one point during the play, it was reported that Lady Madden became the focus of attention, and a good deal of mirth, when the character Gwendolen uttered the immortal line: ‘I pity any woman who is married to a man called John’.

I’m not quite sure that I agree with Wilde’s sentiment – and I’m positive that Rosemary doesn’t either!

The point is, that despite the prevailing morality of the day – despite the outrage the scandal generated back in England – in Australia Wilde’s art was still accepted and enjoyed by many people.

Our newspapers were also supportive. In fact, the Argus, which had a reputation as being rather conservative, commented that the jury who convicted him were, and I quote: ‘Philistines … to a man’.

Of course, one of the legendary characteristics of the Irish is their story-telling ability – an ability that delights the adopted countries and countrymen of emigrant Irish around the world.

Here in Australia we have Tom Keneally, the nearest thing to a living leprechaun in modern Australia, and undoubtedly a living literary treasure. His novels, such as The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith, have helped shape our view of ourselves and helped the world understand history and the triumph of human nature over evil, as we see in Schindler’s Ark.

But I have to confess that my favourite modern Irish story-teller is the late Frank McCourt.

Who else but an Irishman raised in Limerick can capture the life-changing effect of being chronically, miserably wet.

McCourt starts Angela’s Ashes, his story of growing up Irish that doubles as a memorial to his mother, with this description: ‘The rain drove us into church – our refuge, our strength, our only dry place.  At Mass, Benedictions, novenas, we huddled in great damp clumps, dozing through priest drone, while steam rose again from our clothes to mingle with the sweetness of incense, flowers and candles. Limerick gained a reputation for piety, but we knew it was only the rain.’

And we can’t speak of the Irish in Australia without mentioning sport.

Ireland and Australia share a love of horse racing and some of the most exciting thoroughbred races in recent Australian racing history have seen great Irish horses in contention.

Importantly, for those of us in Melbourne with a tribal attachment to Australian Rules Football, Ireland has provided Australia with some of its most exciting and talented AFL players.

And today I would particularly like to pay tribute to the trailblazing Jim Stynes, one of Melbourne’s most loved Irish sons.

Jim has distinguished himself way beyond his considerable football achievements, leading by example with his commitment to supporting young people and social justice.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Jim for his contribution to Victoria in so many spheres, and to wish Jim and his family all the best for the future. And I hope that his beloved Demons exceed all expectations this year.

The people of Ireland have left an indelible stamp on our country and our state.

They have helped shape the Australian character and they have helped build our cities and our towns. They are a fundamental part of the very fabric of this nation.

So today, on this St Patrick’s Day, I want to say to our Irish community that we acknowledge and value your contribution to our State and to our way of life over many years.

I want to wish you all a happy and joyous St Patrick’s Day.

And, to quote the words of author, Jonathan Swift:  ‘May you live every day of your life’.

Thank you.”