Aoife’s singing made a crucial impression
IRISH diplomats are not what one might imagine them to be. If you expected stiff upper-lip types who can’t take a joke, you couldn’t be further than the truth.
It’s our story-telling, singing and ability to reach out to people which are our secret weapons, according to Aoife Erraught, one of the young team at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade who worked to win Ireland a temporary seat on the UN Security Council. A newspaper story on Ireland’s successful campaign reported that ‘a singsong with overseas guests in a Co Cork seaside village’ helped Ireland’s election to the Security Council, noting that a young official from the Department had joined in the singsong with delegates from small island developing countries. Aoife from Ravensdale, sister of opera star Tara, was that un-named singer.
Aoife believes that Ireland’s rich cultural heritage can play a key role in reaching out to other countries. She joined the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade almost three years ago, working on the UN team, and is thrilled to have been able to play a part in the successful bid for a temporary seat on the Security Council. ‘It was a very clear win or lose moment’.
Aoife will be moving with the Irish team to New York when the country takes up its seat on the Security Council in the New Year. ‘It’s an absolute privilege to be part of that team,’ she says. ‘It’s a very exciting time.’
Her work also involves her work with the small island nations in the Caribbean, South Pacific and off Africa. ‘ It’s amazing to see how much culture we have in common.’
A past-pupil of Dulargy NS and Dundalk Grammar School, Aoife studied politics an business in Trinity College Dublin and then completed a Masters Degree focusing on cultural diplomacy and conflict resolution.
‘ That’s when the two started to intersect, the politics and the music,’ she recalls. ‘It’s lovely to have the two parts of my life interconnect in a useful way.’
Aoife did a short stint with Irish National Opera - ‘just in the chorus’ - before joining the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
‘Irish culture is something that connects us all over the world. It’s part of how we tell our story, for example when you look at the refugees and the common threads of Irish people who went all over the world it’s in our music and song.’
‘Music is a big part of the Border counties and how we interpret our history,’ she continues, pointing out that young musicians get to meet those from across the community divide through the Cross Border Orchestra and Feiseanna.
‘It’s a pleasure to be able to bring not just my Irishness but only that corner where we are all from to my work,’ she says. ‘It’s a real joy’.
Aoife points out that for a small nation, Ireland has achieved a lot with the UN and is proud to be part of the Louth connection which harks right back to Frank Aiken.
She is particular proud of the role Ireland played in bringing the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 roadmap to the UN. ‘It is an incredible achievement and is very important as it should make a huge difference to both national and international policy.’