The Ambassadors: 'Part of Sweden's lagom is work-life balance - we could learn from that'

Gormley, originally from County Wicklow, has been a career diplomat since he joined the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs in 1991, serving in seven countries. He moved to Stockholm with his Bulgarian wife and their teenage children in August 2020, and has so far been enjoying the experience. 

You can listen to Austin Gormley talk to The Local's Paul O'Mahony on the Sweden in Focus podcast, below.

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"I think the sheer scale of the country is impressive. We took an overnight train with the family up to Kiruna in the north, you know, it's just the fact that it takes an overnight train to get there," he says. "The summers are fantastic, I have to say, and the cafe culture and seeing people mingling and happy. It sort of reminds me of the south of France almost, so that's kind of surprising."

On of the things he values about Swedish life is what he calls "the thoughtfulness that goes into a lot of the way the city is organised, but also the countryside". 

"The picnic tables in these remote spots, it's very thoughtful, and of course, Swedish lagom. And part of that is work life balance. I think we have something to learn from that in a lot of other parts of Europe, the value that people attach to time with family and friends. I think we may have lost a little bit of that in Ireland."

Many of the roughly 3,000 Irish citizens in Sweden come to the country through marriage, with Gormley suggesting that there was a sort of blowback in the 1990s, from when a lot of Swedes went to live in Ireland, and then came back with their Irish boyfriends of girlfriends. 

"Quite a lot [of Irish citizens] are married to Swedish nationals, so a lot of intermarriage," he says. "I guess Ireland was a popular destination in the 90s for Swedish people, maybe linked to the music, the film The Commitments, U2, the Corrs and all that." 

"My own view is that when people get married, settle down and have children, it's maybe a little bit sticky. It's hard to leave Sweden." 

More recently though, more and more Irish people have been coming for business, particularly helping to set up data centres in the north, with the Nordic Region now doing about €15bn in trade with Ireland annually.

"It's actually the highest growing region for indigenous Irish exports globally," he says. "So that gives you some sense of the market and potential."  

Trade with Sweden makes up about half of that total, with "increasing numbers" of Irish citizens moving to the "very far reaches in the north in Luleå", and places such as Sandviken and Gävle, where Irish companies are constructing data centres. 

For the Irish community, the biggest event is St Patrick's Day on March 17th, when the Swedish-Irish society organises a big event that draws about 3,000 people, he says. 

Then there's St Bridget's Day, which celebrates women's contributions to the arts, and Bloomsday on June 16th, celebrating James Joyce's great novels Ulysses.

Gormley also names Halloween, "or Samhain, as it's known in Ireland, which has been appropriated by our American friends". 

The Gaelic Athletic Association is busy promoting Irish sports, particularly Gaelic football with teams in Stockholm, Gothenburg, and increasingly as far north as Luleå where Irish companies are active. 

"The Irish Chamber of Commerce, founded in 2018, is again, active in networking Irish business people. They have a gala dinner now coming up in early December in Stockholm, so it's a great community.

"I would encourage Irish people, obviously, but anybody with an affinity to Ireland, of which there are many in North America or our nearest neighbour, Britain, and from Australia and New Zealand, to join in the events at the embassy."