Ireland’s Taoiseach Micheál Martin spent the past four days in China, a trip that received glowing coverage in both the Irish and Chinese state media. 

But questions remain about what these visits actually achieve and whether Ireland’s much-talked-about “soft power” still makes a meaningful impact internationally.

Former Irish ambassador to France and the EU, Rory Montgomery, told Newstalk Daily that while trips like this should not be exaggerated, they still matter for a small country like Ireland.

“They mean a lot to small countries in particular, because they afford an opportunity first to put oneself in the sights of a big power like China.”

Montgomery noted that Ireland does not have the same “natural relationship” with China that it has with the United States, making visibility especially important in relation to these trips. 

He added that these visits strengthen Ireland’s diplomatic presence "on the ground."

“It’s very important in this case [in China], for the embassy, because it means that they are talking to very senior interlocutors in preparing for the visit and the follow-up of the visit," he stated, which further helps Ireland and political recognition.

Trade, he stressed, is central to these trips. 

Reflecting on past Taoiseach-led visits to India and Dubai, Montgomery said, “They were of value from an economic point of view,” while acknowledging it is “very hard to take a particular visit or event out of the context of the wider, large longer term flow of relationships.”

That economic focus is even clearer during Ireland’s annual St Patrick’s Day visit to Washington. 

While the Oval Office meeting gets the most media attention, Montgomery said the surrounding business events are crucial to these visits.

“Visits of this kind tend to crystallise relationships.”

He added that these trips are also highly organised, and every interaction has been coordinated.

“These things are, to an extent, pre-cooked,” Montgomery said, though much depends on “the relationship which is built up in a meeting.”

Is soft power working?

In relation to Ireland's ‘soft power’ approach, a term traced back to political scientist Joseph Nye, Montgomery highlighted the importance of this tactic from an Irish perspective. 

“For smaller countries, yes, it is a way of getting oneself on the map,” he said, pointing to Ireland’s English language and cultural significance.

“We are fortunate in having aspects of our collaboration in particular traditional music, I would say, and maybe at a different level, literature.”

He referred to unexpected cultural links, including the revelation that Xi Jinping had been influenced by an Irish novel. 

“We saw during the week the rather extraordinary revolutionaries that Xi Jinping had been sustained by an Irish novel, The Gadfly, from the 1890s.”

On neutrality, he was blunt.

"This idea that it gives us a particular platform, I don't think other countries would see that at all."

He added that especially in this political climate, "Irish neutrality is seen in a more negative light."

Montgomery was clear that the main focus in a global sense was the EU.

“The core of our foreign policy has to be Europe,” he said, while acknowledging Ireland’s dependence on US trade and investment.

“It’s extraordinarily difficult,” he added, describing a global environment where even larger actors like the EU are struggling to navigate the pressures of competing with the US, China and Russia on the international stage.