Fifty years of cultural ties between Spain and Ireland

Monday 11 February marked the 50th anniversary of the official opening of the Spanish Cultural Institute in Dublin. Behind this idea was José Antonio Sierra, a graduate in Philosophy and Arts, Journalism and Social Psychology, working as a Spanish teacher at the city's famous Trinity College at the time. José Antonio had previously spent time working in Lyon (France), Brighton and the Isle of Wight.

Speaking to SUR in English ahead of the anniversary, José Antonio, who is now 87 and lives in Malaga, explained that he arrived in Ireland in September 1968. "I went to Ireland to work as a Reader in Spanish at Trinity College Dublin and to write about the importance of the Spanish language in Ireland and the influence of the Irish schools in Spain on the historical relations between the two countries."

He went on to say, "I soon realised that Spanish newspapers were only sold in a supermarket in the centre of Dublin, that Spanish language teaching books were not from Spanish publishers and that my students had very little knowledge of Spain."

So, with the support of both Spanish and Irish governments, his idea to create a cultural reference point for the two countries in Dublin was born.

Official invitations were sent out from the Spanish ambassador in Ireland at the time and the Instituto Cultural Español de Dublin was inaugurated on 11 February 1974 at 58 Northumberland Street.

The ceremony was presided over by the then Irish Minister of Education, Richard Burke, who spoke in English, Irish and Spanish. In his speech Burke referred to Spain as a "distant haven of hope for oppressed Irishmen in the past".

An official statement from the Ministry of Education said, "Today hundreds of Spaniards come to Ireland. These are mostly young people who want to perfect their knowledge of English and who find Ireland the most congenial place in which to do so." The statement went on to read, "We hope the warmth of our welcome will compensate to some extent for any deficiencies in our climate."

As well as the Spanish language, the institute promoted, collaborated in or organised nearly 200 concerts of Spanish music until it was attached to the Instituto Cervantes in 1991.

The Instituto Cervantes is the public institution created in 1991 which currently has centres in 45 countries around the world and is comparable with the UK's British Council.

While no special events are taking place to mark the milestone, José Antonio has extended his personal thanks "to all the staff of the Spanish Cultural Institute for their help and collaboration in helping the Institute to fulfil its aims and act as a cultural bridge between Spain and Ireland for 20 years." He hopes to travel to Dublin to meet up with friends and former colleagues he keeps in touch with this spring.