Irish Ag Minister's whistlestop tour

However, there was nothing sinister in the whistle blowing. It just so happens that Minister Charlie McConalogue is a sheep farmer and dog trialist and the gift to him form O'Connor was a very special shepherd's whistle made from pounamu - NZ greenstone.

McConalogue hails from farming stock in county Donegal and was able to quickly prove within the hallowed halls of Parliament that he has mustering skills.

McConalogue was one of many Crown Ministers dispatched from Dublin to all four corners of the world to connect with people who have Irish heritage and join them in celebrating St Patrick's Day.

One of the main duties of Charlie McConalogue was to officially open the Irish Embassy in Wellington, which has been operating - like the NZ Embassy in Dublin - for the past four years. He also met Irish people in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. McConalogue says he first came to NZ in his early twenties as a backpacker and spent time touring the South Island.

"I knew what a lovely country it was, so looking forward to coming back," he told Rural News.

As well as connecting with Irish people in NZ, McConalogue and his advisors spent tim looking at farms in the North Island. He also visited Lincoln University to meet with staff, as well as AgResearch and Silver Fern Farms, who are all working on a number of joint venture projects with Irish scientists.

McConalogue and O'Connor met last year in Ireland and there is a clear friendship and working relationship extists between the pair, with both praising each other's work in the areas of agriculture and trade. McConalogue says when O'Connor was in Ireland the pair signed a $14 million agreement to jointly collaborate on research projects.

"I wanted to come to NZ to see face-to-face the similarities of the two countries, and of course, having met Damien when he was in Ireland a year ago, we had a number of meetings," he says. "It was great being here this week to build on that."

The Collaboration Era

In the past, Irish farmers - along with those from England and France - have been less than enthusiastic about NZ agricultural exports to Europe.

However, with the advent of the EU/NZ FTA, which is nearing ratification, Charlie McConalogue sees this changing.

He says everyone is in a different space globally because demand for food is increasing as the world's population grows.

McConalogue says, as a consequence, a lot more is being asked of the land and its ability to contribute to food production. On top of this, he says the land is having to deal with issues around sequestration and carbon capture and address the challenge of biodiversity.

"We are asking a lot of the land and the challenge in the years ahead is how we can continue to be more productive, and in a way that is more sustainable and with a lower footprint," he explains. "I see a lot of opportunity for our two countries to collaborate as we have shared objectives in terms of meeting that challenge."

McConalogue says there has always been great friendship between Ireland and NZ and in the past some straight competition. But he believes now is the time to exploit the great opportunities for partnerships in many areas.

He says both countries, along with the EU, share similar values and this includes the commonality between Māori and Irish in particular.

"My take home message is that I have come away with is that we have the ability to build on the relationships that have been growing over the years and to do more as partners as we both have pasture based systems," he told Rural News.

"And also the fact that agriculture is a significant part of both of our economies and we have the same connections and affiliations to the land."