In his first public talk since arriving in Malta seven months ago, Irish Ambassador Jim Hennessy gave an account of the huge contribution of Irish authors and playwrights to English literature.

Hennessy was speaking in the second of a series of talks by the four English-speaking ambassadors resident in Malta to members of the English-Speaking Union of Malta last Thursday on the theme ‘Ethnic, Cultural and Linguistic Pluralism in an English-speaking Nation’.

He highlighted the outstanding literary contribution of Ireland, stemming from the distinctive tradition of Bardic poetry and story-telling, and the consequent imaginative interplay between the Celtic and the English to produce the great literature of the famous writers and poets over the centuries, including Jonathan Swift, W.B. Yeats, James Joyce and a great host of others.

Extensive emigration from Ireland had taken place over the centuries, particularly at the time of the Great Famine. Much of this had been to other English-speaking countries, following the shipping lines of the British Empire, which had spread the influence of Irish culture and literature around the world.

Referring to the cultural tradition of St Patrick’s Day, Hennessy light-heartedly remarked that Malta had the edge when it comes to all the colourful Maltese celebrations of saints and feasts.

He said that in recent years, Ireland had had more immigration from foreign workers, particularly from Eastern Europe, which the ambassador thought had made Irish society richer and even more interesting.

The next talk by the English-Speaking Union of Malta in this series will take place on May 19, when US Ambassador Douglas Kmiec, will speak on the same theme at St James Cavalier, Valletta.

He will deliver a talk entitled ‘Of Scallywags and Eternal Flames: Political Rhetoric and American History’.