There’s an annual kerfuffle around this time of the year about whether or not Government ministers should go abroad for St Patrick’s Day.

On one side is the arguably simplistic view that if a politician goes somewhere by air, they are wasting taxpayer’s money. We live on an island remember.

On the other side of the argument, we are told its more than a simple junket, flesh is pressed and business deals completed. On balance, it must be worth it.

People of other nationalities may claim the same, but we do like to think we are special

I don’t think much of the phrase “punching above our weight” when it comes to talking about Ireland’s place across the world, but it does have some merit. On a recent trip to the US, I experienced some harmless examples of the largely positive attitude towards us. People of other nationalities may claim the same, but we do like to think we are special. It began with my flight from London to San Francisco.

It later transpired on discussing the exchange with my mother that this lady’s granddad and my granddad would have worked together

The English flight attendant asked me what part of Ireland I was from. And in return I asked her had she been to Ireland much. “Yes, both of my parents are Irish, my mother is from Galway and Dad is from Offaly.” It turned out that in the 1950s her dad’s family emigrated from Edenderry to London. It later transpired on discussing the exchange with my mother that this lady’s granddad and my granddad would have worked together in the shoe business in Edenderry where my mother is from.

Kauai, Hawaii. I walk into a bar and order a drink. The American barman lights up. He spent two years working in Kinsale and loved it.

A guy sitting close by stood us a whiskey (I don’t drink whiskey, but that’s beside the point) because he had surfed in Ireland and adored it. He had overheard the accent.

It was a surreal conversation

Another day, an ostentatiously wealthy man (in his 50s retired New York finance guy) politely interrupted us on hearing the accent to tell us about going out with a woman from Kinnegad in the 1980s, or “Kina-gaad” as he pronounced it. It was a surreal conversation.

I was under strict orders from my mother not to return from Hawaii without some golf regalia. We overheard the golf shop attendant (another wealthy retiree to Kawaii) talk about Mark Zuckerberg who had a house on the island and whom he apparently was acquainted with.

In the early noughties, he and a bunch of his golfing buddies took a helicopter tour of some of Ireland’s top golf courses

We were curious to find out about all the wealthy tech billionaires who had reportedly moved to this amazing island as COVID-19 hit.

Enough about that, he wanted to tell us about his Irish story. In the early noughties, he and a bunch of his golfing buddies took a helicopter tour of some of Ireland’s top golf courses.

Instead of continuing on to Scotland to play there, they decided to play the Irish courses again. To paraphrase him, our golf courses are among the best he’s played anywhere.

Then as I boarded the long overnight flight from Honolulu to New York, it was packed and I was down the back.

I politely asked the American flight attendant if there were any exit rows seats for my long legs. “I’m sorry it’s a full flight.” Then: “Where in Ireland are you from?” she asked. “Dublin.” Two minutes later she returned and told me to follow her to an empty exit row. “My husband is from Tempelogue and his family are all mad Tipperary hurling people. Enjoy the flight.”

It may be just anecdotal Paddy-whackery stuff but a reminder that we do have this impact. Why not milk it when we can.

People mindful

Some people obviously still wish to wear face masks in public. We should not be judgemental.

We have very short memories about the huge trauma this (still-circulating) disease has caused us all.