Outgoing ambassador on British-Irish relations

The outgoing British ambassador to Ireland, Stewart Eldon, has an opinion piece in the Irish Times outlining progress in the Irish-British relationship. Interestingly, he doesn’t mention emigration; he focuses on what the two nations have in common, including trade links, joint efforts on the North, young Irish people’s attitudes toward the UK, the Irish Government’s commemoration of the Battle of the Somme, cooperation on law enforcement. He concludes that while Ireland and Britain will always be rivals on the sports field, “that rivalry is now counterbalanced by greater understanding of each other's sensitivities and a recognition that both sides have something real and important to contribute, across the board.”