Diary

Paul Johnston’s Diary: From Marty Morrissey and Riverdance to Leo’s bombshell announcement

British ambassador to Ireland was also glad to meet fellow Scot Gregor Townsend this week, plus the incomparable Patrick Kielty on St Patrick’s Day

Ambassador Paul Johnston with Patrick Kielty on St Patrick’s Day 2024. ‘If Prufrock measured out his life in coffee spoons, this job has other metrics’

Thursday

After a Wednesday dinner celebrating Joyce’s Ulysses, a 5am start to catch a flight to London. Every quarter, the Foreign Office board host the 20 most senior ambassadors to discuss policy and corporate issues. It’s great to see in person my counterparts, from New York, Washington, Paris, Beijing. We cover everything from Russia/Ukraine to Israel/Gaza, via migration and international development.

We were joined by the foreign secretary, who had been working on his papers before the start of the BBC’s Farming Today. Given that programme begins at 5.30am, I feel less bad about my early start.