The Austin business scene is getting an unusual new addition soon: The Irish government.
Irish authorities announced this week that Austin is their top choice for a new consulate in Texas, aimed at establishing stronger economic ties between a country widely seen as excellent for business and one of the fastest-growing high-tech cities in the world.
According to The Irish Times, the country’s consulate in Austin will also play host to Enterprise Ireland and representatives of IDA Ireland, two key economic development groups that help foster domestic and international business growth.
The Times adds that Ireland will only be the second foreign country with a consulate in Austin; Mexico also has a diplomatic mission in town, mainly to foster cross-border communications with the occasionally ornery chieftains operating Texas’s control levers.
“We are hoping for a prominent location, not far from the Capitol, to make a statement that we are here and that we are the first here from the European Union,” Irish Consul General Adrian Farrell told the Times.
They added that Austin was chosen after an exhaustive search because of the city’s reputation as a hotbed for startups and major technology companies, along with a cost of living significantly lower than other American tech centers like San Francisco, New York City, Boston, and Chicago.
“The feeling was that the fit was best with Austin in that it is a very fast-growing, future-focused, young city: it has very clear strengths that match our strengths,” Irish Ambassador Annie Anderson reportedly said.
The Irish government’s website says the consulate is due to open sometime in October.
On behalf of Austin.com (and in terminology the Irish might be more accustomed to), welcome to town, shams! This city might seem to be full of scuttered bucks and manky flutes on your average Saturday night, but pop in to Fado’s Irish Pub on 4th Street or B.D. Riley’s on 6th Street and you’re sure to run into at least a few other Jackeens acting the maggot. It’s a pretty different sort of landscape out here in Austin, but our uniquely quare yoke can make any old bogger feel like a proper jammy.
Or something like that.
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Photo: Flickr user jpmpinmontreal, creative commons licensed.
