Boxer ‘on a high’ after hugely successful trip Down Under!

Athlone Minister of State Kevin 'Boxer' Moran definitely has an extra pep in his step this week after what he described as a “hugely enjoyable” nine-day trip to Australia where he represented the Irish Government at St Patrick's Day festivities across four states.

While admitting that the sweltering temperatures, the constant travelling and a packed schedule of meetings and engagements made it “tough going at times” the local Independent deputy was delighted with the “genuine warm welcome” he received everywhere he went.

“It was honestly a real eye-opener for me,” he said. “I couldn't believe the respect and goodwill that the Irish diaspora had for the fact that an Irish Minister would bother to go all the way to Australia to meet with them.”

Despite the heat, Boxer opted to wear a suit and a bright green tie to all his public engagements in Australia, even though he was given the option of wearing a t-shirt. “I felt it was important to wear a suit and a green tie since I was representing the Irish Government and I think it was appreciated,” he said, adding that the green tie proved to be “massively popular.”

Due to the war in the Middle East, the flight schedule for Boxer's trip Down Under had to be completely revamped at short notice and eventually involved taking eleven flights over nine days. “I only sleep about for about an hour and a half every night anyway so I never suffered a bit of jet lag,” he says, “so I was very lucky in that respect and I didn't mind the flying at all”.

Having previously represented the Government on St. Patrick's Day trips abroad to Kenya in 2018; Poland and the Czech Republic in 2019 and Portugal in 2025, Boxer Moran said it's “very difficult” to describe the importance of the trips to someone who has never been on one. “It's only when you stand before a sea of green, white and gold jerseys and see all the Irish people that it really hits home how much these trips mean to them, it's honestly electrifying” he said.

The Athlone native was the Grand Marshal at the St Patrick's Day parade in Perth and performed the same honour at the Sydney parade five days later. The Irish were ten deep on the streets of Sydney and I met so many of them afterwards from all parts of the country, including locals from Athlone and all around the Midlands...it was really unforgettable, I'll never forget the welcome we got and the joy on people's faces.”

On a trip that provided many highlights for Boxer and his entourage of four - including a spot of Irish dancing and an appearance on national TV – he said the Sydney parade was “a particular highlight” as he met so many of the Irish diaspora and got to spend time with them at the Irish Festival afterwards

Aside from the St. Patrick's festivities, the trip involved a whole series of meetings in Perth, Sydney, Brisbane and Canberra. “We had between five and seven engagements every day of the trip, so we were kept going but it was so important to meet with Enterprise Ireland and all the various business organisations and to see the great work being done by everyone in promoting Ireland, including our own Embassy staff on the ground who are on hand to help any time they are needed.”

Among the meetings that Boxer attended was one with the Claddagh Foundation, an Irish community welfare organisation that works with Irish people who fall on hard times. “It was a very moving experience to see the great work they do,” he said, “and I am in the process of setting up a zoom meeting between them and Minister of State for Mental Health and Older People, Mary Butler to see what help we can provide to them.”

Another highlight of the visit was a meeting in Perth with Austin Appelbee, the heroic 14-year-old Irish/Australian teenager who made headlines around the world last month when he swam 4km back to shore to raise the alarm after his family were swept out to sea. “After I presented him with a letter from President Catherine Connolly, his mother, Joanne, said to me that I would never know what the meeting meant to her and her family.”

Also on the packed itinerary was a meeting with the Queensland Emergency Operations Centre at Kedron on his visit to Brisbane, which included a flood briefing. “They are very advanced in some areas of dealing with flooding, and also with bush fires, and in other areas we would be ahead of them, so there was a lot learned on both sides,” said Boxer.

While he can “fully appreciate” how some people would view the prospect of 42 representatives of the Irish Government visiting 52 countries for St Patrick's Day as “a waste of taxpayers money” Boxer said it copper fastens for him the huge influence of the Irish across the globe. “We constantly punch above our weight for such a small country, and everywhere we went we were greeted with open arms and the Irish diaspora were delighted to see us,” he said.

If Irish Ministers didn't travel abroad for St. Patrick's Day, Boxer Moran maintained there would be “a lot of disappointed people” but he said he “perfectly understands” how some people would see such trips as junkets. “I used to say the same myself before I went on them,” he said, ”but you'll never hear me saying that again because I have seen first hand what they mean to the Irish abroad and the love and respect that was shown to us.”