Macron shows Taoiseach ‘very moving’ letters from Wolfe Tone to France
By Gráinne Ní Aodha, Press Association
Micheál Martin was shown “very moving” letters from Irish revolutionary Wolfe Tone by Emmanuel Macron during their engagement at the Élysée Palace.
The Taoiseach had a “very comprehensive” meeting with the French president in Paris on Thursday as part of preparations for Ireland to take up the presidency of the EU Council from July.
The two leaders discussed the EU presidency and the Middle East, including the Strait of Hormuz, Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, and Israel’s behaviour towards detained flotilla activists.
Mr Martin said they also discussed Ireland and France’s bilateral relationship: €45 billion in trading links, cultural ties, a second interconnector to be completed by 2028, and work with France’s Department of Defence to procure radar and sonar.
At the end of the meeting, which continued for around two hours, the Taoiseach said he was shown “moving” handwritten letters from Tone to the French state before he died in 1798.
He said: “Fascinatingly, at the end of the lunch, he showed me records from the French military archives in Vincennes to do with Wolfe Tone.
“These are letters from Wolfe Tone, handwritten letters from Wolfe Tone before his death, pleading with the French authorities as a French soldier to look after his wife and family. Very poignant, very moving.
“We will now digitise those archives, and I think that would be a very significant venture of great new use for Irish researchers.”
For six months from July, Ireland will take responsibility for planning and chairing EU Council meetings and negotiations, and representing the council in discussions with the European Parliament and European Commission.
About 30,000 delegates will visit Ireland over the six months, with meetings taking place over four-and-a-half months when the breaks over August and the Christmas period are excluded.
Departmental officials are finalising Ireland’s policy priorities, which are to be published next month.
Mr Martin said: “On the presidency, I think there’s broad agreement in terms of the competitiveness agenda and the road map that has been laid out by the commission, the parliament, and the council, particularly around the capital markets union and the saving and investment union, the 28th regime in terms of the establishment of small- to medium-sized companies across Europe in a much more quicker timeline, the Industrial Accelerator Act.
“So we had a very detailed discussion on all of those.
“We then moved on to the budget. How might that land – it’s an objective to complete the budget negotiations by the end of the year?
“So we, taking on the presidency, are endeavouring to try and ascertain the various positions of governments, and the French government is obviously a key government in terms of the ultimate shape of that budget, and whether we can get agreement by the end of the year or not.
“So it was very useful from that point of view to hear the French perspective.
“So, overall I think a very fruitful and productive meeting.”
