51³Ô¹ÏÍø

UK & Ireland summit: Keir Starmer and Micheal Martin speeches; ENGLAND: Liverpool: Museum of Liverpool: INT Micheal Martin (Taoiseach) speech SOT [welcome in Gaelic, not translated] - We like to think that some of our creativity was also carried across the water with the Irish migrants who made Britain their home. The famous Liverpool wit perhaps owes something to the Irish dark sense of humour and our ability to poke fun at ourselves. And it is more than coincidence that many of the most successful British musicians, as Lisa has said, from The Beatles to Kate Bush to Oasis, have had Irish mothers and fathers or grannies and granddads cheering them on. On the subject of music, I would like to thank the Liverpool String Quartet whom we've had the pleasure of hearing perform this evening. The flow of Irish through Liverpool continues to this day, though now more likely to be weekend visits by football fanatics or horse racing enthusiasts. Of course over the years also quite a few Irish were more than spectators at these events. I'm thinking of the likes of Steve Highway and Roy Keane, not to mention the many Irish winners at Aintree. In fact, it is estimated that almost quarter of the population of Ireland including myself or supporters of one of the four Premier League football clubs in northwest England, though, Arsenal also has considerable support, I can assure you, Prime Minister. And indeed, our Arsenal's women's team currently counts Ireland's captain Katie McCabe within its esteemed ranks. I'm very pleased that we are joined this evening by so many representatives from Irish community organisations in Liverpool and beyond. It is our Irish community who are and have long bean, the true ambassadors for our nation and I would like to take this opportunity to recognise and thank the different groups and individuals, who through generations and through good times and who have nurtured, valued and celebrated the rich relationship between our two isla...