EVEN AT THE best of times, the scattering of Irish government ministers across the galaxy on their annual glad-handing mission can feel uncomfortable for the rest of us.

How much of our money are they spending? What are they getting up to over there? Why does the Attorney General need to go to Argentina? And so forth.

The stakes feel higher again this year, with so much of the Irish public so desperately opposed to the US’ involvement in Israel’s bombing campaign and war in Gaza. In the Oval Office on Friday, Leo Varadkar told Joe Biden that he believed a ceasefire “as soon as possible” was necessary. The US president tamely agreed, having made similarly statements in recent weeks.

Varadkar has made other remarks on Gaza since arriving in the United States this week, arguing the need “to get the tone right and tailor the message for the audience” when doing so. It is one style of diplomacy, and it is the kind we have relied upon for decades, presenting ourselves as everybody’s best mate, and certainly not the kind of people who’ll tell you what you’re doing wrong over a bowl of shamrocks.

Fianna Fáil needs to get back to basics & abandon the Hate Speech Bill etc. Focus on Housing, Health and Law & Order and stop playing to the woke gallery. Start listening to the people, stop talking down to them and stop listening to the out of touch Greens & NGOs #Referendum2024

— Willie O'Dea (@willieodeaLIVE) March 11, 2024

But this week, a little (or a lot) southwest of Washington DC, a different kind of Irish diplomacy emerged. Starting a feud with the governor of Texas? Well, that’s just much more like it.

The beef kicked off between Texas’ Republican governor Greg Abbott and the young musicians of Ireland when 10 different Irish acts, including the entire Music From Ireland slate, announced that they would be pulling out of Texas music festival SXSW. 

The exodus was kicked into gear by Belfast rap trio Kneecap, who cited the role of the US Army and weapons company RTX (formerly Raytheon) as major sponsors of the festival as their reason for pulling out. The crew have been particular vocal in their support for Palestine, appearing on RTÉ’s Late Late Show in pro-Palestine gear after agreeing not to. Again, the kind of diplomacy you’d think we’d deploy more of. 

The decision to quit will have come at great financial and opportunity cost to each of the acts, all of whom specified the US Army and RTX’s role in arming Israel as the reason for their absence. 

Governor Abbott didn’t take kindly to this and responded on Twitter, writing: “Bye. Don’t come back. We are proud of the US military in Texas. If you don’t like it, don’t come here.”

Barred from Texas! Now this feels right! This feels like the relationship we should have with more of the world. Tense and snarky and combustible and cleaved around a fundamental difference in right and wrong. Doesn’t that feel a bit more true to who we are?

The collective pullout left Minister for Arts and Culture Catherine Martin in a tricky position. Alone in Texas, Martin attended the festival anyway – a wincingly painful idea akin to attending one’s Debs by themselves, or perhaps with a relative. Martin expressed her support for the artists’ freedom and reiterated her “revulsion” over the “devastation that has been unleashed on Gaza,” but ultimately adhered to the cornerstone that is the St Patrick’s Day diplomatic programme. 

Fianna Fáil needs to get back to basics & abandon the Hate Speech Bill etc. Focus on Housing, Health and Law & Order and stop playing to the woke gallery. Start listening to the people, stop talking down to them and stop listening to the out of touch Greens & NGOs #Referendum2024

— Willie O'Dea (@willieodeaLIVE) March 11, 2024

There was bad news for the “woke gallery” this week back home, whomever they may be. In a tweet written in the aftermath of last week’s referedums, veteran Limerick TD Willie O’Dea took dead aim (tell me you’re not picturing it) at this cohort without really explaining who he meant. He may have given a hint, however, when he followed up with: “Start listening to the people, stop talking down to them and stop listening to the out of touch Greens & NGOs.” Let’s chalk that up as something like the thousandth different definition of ‘woke’ we’ve seen since the rueful day that British and Irish political classes learned that word.

The tweet was endorsed by O’Dea’s fellow Fianna Fáil TD James O’Connor and liked by others in the party, suggesting that this new anti-woke direction could be something that Fianna Fáil are seriously toying with. How does this new Fianna Fáil propose to untangle us from the bonds of woke-ism that are so self-evidently trapping us?

Well, earlier in the tweet, O’Dea said it was crucial for Fianna Fáil to get back to things like housing, health and law and order. It is, of course, concerning to learn that the reason why housing and healthcare have been left to rot was because Fianna Fáil have, unbeknownst to the rest of us, been playing to the woke gallery for the last four years.

But it’s not too late to fix things, Willie. Stick it to the woke gallery. More houses? That’ll show them. More efficient care in the hospitals? Have that, you snowflake. Safer streets? The lefties will be gritting their teeth, Willie. They’ll be sick, but you should do it anyway. Stay the course. Woke cannot be allowed to win.