Tony Kelly MP, NSW Premier Kristina Keneally and visiting Irish Minister for Trade Billy Kelleher at the Lansdowne Club St Patrick's Day Lunch in Sydney on March 19.
Australia’s political leaders joined in the Irish celebrations like never before on St Patrick’s Day last week.
At the Irish Australian Chamber of Commerce (IACC) breakfast in Melbourne, Victorian Premier John Brumby got the crowd on his side by saying “St Patrick’s Day is undoubtedly Australia’s favourite non-Australian national day”.
Mr Brumby’s great-great-grandfather on his 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,” he said.
More recently, he revealed that his eldest daughter Elizabeth attended Trinity College last year and the Premier and his wife Rosemary visited her in Dublin.
“A lasting impression of that visit was undoubtedly our very first Irish taxi experience,” he said.
“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.”
Speaking at the same event, Kevin Andrews, shadow Federal Minister for Families, Housing and Human Services, detailed the rise and fall of the Celtic Tiger economy.
“We can rejoice that Ireland will rebound, and we can learn from her experiences, as we have in the past,” said Mr Andrews.
“The resilience and good humour of the Irish is legendry; as is their sense of camaraderie and commitment. Let us celebrate today with the Irish and those who wish they were,” he said.
At Sydney’s Lansdowne Club lunch on March 19, NSW Premier Kristina Keneally revealed her own Irish heritage and spoke with affection of the ties that bind the two countries.
“The trade between our two countries is now valued at around $2.5bn per year, and that in itself is a testament to the strength of our relationship. But today we celebrate so much more than just trade.
“We have so many unique ties of friendship that bind our countries together in spirit, and that is something we enjoy celebrating each year on St Patrick’s Day.”
Ms Keneally was joined at the lunch by her husband’s uncle, acclaimed author Thomas Keneally.
Meanwhile, in the NSW upper house on St Patrick’s Day, Lynda Voltz (Labor) noted that: “In Australia, St Patrick’s Day celebrations have taken place on March 17 since 1810, when the then Governor, Lachlan Macquarie, declared the date an official day of celebration for the Irish and those of Irish heritage.”
The house also commended the efforts of the Irish-Australian community volunteers who work tirelessly to organise St Patrick’s Day celebrations throughout Australia.
There was a touch of humour later on in the upper house when Greg Donnelly (Labor) jokingly referred to his party colleague Tony Kelly as “the Minister for St Patrick’s Day”.
Duncan Gay (NSW leader of the Nationals) had no time for such frivolities though, and raised a point of order. “The question is clearly out of order. We do not have a Minister for St Patrick’s Day,” said Mr Gay.
Mr Kelly then advised the House of important work in commemorating the anniversary of the Battle of Vinegar Hill, which took place on March 5, 1804 in and around Rouse Hill in north-west Sydney.
He said the battle “stirred a feeling within the people, a feeling that would, along with the Eureka stockade, self-government and the emergence of the labour movement, act as important signposts in the maturation of the colony into nationhood”.
St Patrick got a brief mention in the Federal Senate, too. Independent Senator Nick Xenophon (South Australia) said: “I feel as though I should get a ‘with deepest sympathy’ card from Senator (Barnaby) Joyce because of all the amendments he has helped kill off!”
The temporary chairman of the Senate, Michael Forshaw (Labor) replied: “You might get a St Patrick’s Day card instead.”
by Pádraig Collins
