Meet the Irish ambassador to the U.S. who spent a weekend in (very Irish) St. Paul

That Geraldine Byrne Nason, Ireland's ambassador to the United States, visited St. Paul for Irish Fair of Minnesota this past weekend is no surprise — the capital city has long and deep Irish roots.

But the diplomat's first-ever visit to the Twin Cities had a twofold purpose: celebrating the area's cultural and familial connections to Ireland, but also promoting an increasingly modern economic and social relationship.

Eye On St. Paul, whose Irish grandparents came to St. Paul in the 1930s, sat down with Nason on Friday at Celtic Junction Arts Center to go beyond the city's Irish history to its future with a new Ireland. This interview was edited for length.

Q: I shared some of my family's connections to Ireland. You get that a lot, don't you?

A: You know, I'm absolutely, passionately interested in everyone's Irish-ness. Frankly, two generations is very recent. As you know, there are 30 million Irish Americans and, globally, we talk about our diaspora being 70 million.

What I detect in you is that romantic and still-committed attachment. The affinity you feel with your forefathers. The circumstances in the 1930s and '40s were difficult in Ireland, but the big wave came here to the United States in the 19^th century, when they were being literally starved off the island. I'm always proud when people tell me their story.

Q: As those family connections fade, do you find the relationship between the U.S. and Ireland weakening?

But there are new connections, in terms of Ireland's relationship with the diaspora in the southern United States, where we're uncovering some of the other immigration. In Tennessee, they came over in the 1700s, what we call Scotch Irish. In Nashville, we have a really vibrant music scene there with a huge fusion going on with Irish music roots very much interacting with Appalachian bluegrass music.

And now, what we're seeing is that some of our Irish links are in parts of America that we didn't understand, like African Americans. We now have what we call an African American Irish diaspora network. Thirty percent of African Americans have Irish DNA. It's a new connection, but it's very committed.

I just came from a university campus here in St. Paul and what we were talking about is making room for the next generation. It's not all that we look back, but that we're forging the future.

Q: What do you think is the potential of the future relationship between Ireland and the United States?

A: It looks very positive, in my view. Politically and economically, we have gone from strength to strength in this relationship. Economically, the United States is Ireland's No. 1 source of foreign direct investment. Over 200,000 jobs in Ireland come from U.S. investors. What's not known is that we in Ireland are the United States' ninth source of direct investment. For a country of our size, that is pretty exceptional. We actually have 2,500 jobs Irish investors have created here in Minnesota.

Q: What is it about the United States that appeals to Irish investors?

A: Well, first of all, scale. It's an enormous market. The high-end sectors of the Irish economy are a very good fit here. One of the things that we've found is that Irish investors partner up here. We don't come in and displace American actors.

Q: Ireland's a very different place now than when I first visited [in 1986].

A: It is. If you look back to 1986, it's not just that we've made huge strides economically, we've made big strides in a social sense and big strides in bringing peace to the island of Ireland. Because back in 1986, we were just emerging from a very unstable period. Twenty-five years ago this year, we finally brought peace to the island with the Good Friday Agreement. And that was transformative for Ireland.

But it's also true that when you were there, we had just been [about] 10 years as members of the European Union. And 50 years of membership in that union has also revolutionized Ireland — its economy, but also pushed us forward socially.

Fast forward to the 21^st century. We changed our constitution, particularly in sexual and reproductive health. We were the first country to deliver marriage for all. So, we're a very progressive society.

Q: What was your goal for this visit?

A: This is my first visit to the Twin Cities. It's my first Irish Fair, ever. I've seen what an exceptional volunteer effort it is to bring people together for such a huge celebration of Irish culture, Irish music and dance, the written word. I'm a diplomat. I'm paid to speak well of Ireland. But these people and the festival are the essence of what being Irish is all about.

Celtic Junction is a starry example of how we bring that next generation forward. And I just want to say a big thank you to everyone who does this every day out of a deep love for the country that I've served my entire career.