I've thought recently a lot about being Irish and what it means to be Irish. Name me another small country of our size that has such an impact around the world? I can' t think of many...

From musicians, to poets, actors, jockeys, writers and sportsmen, for a country with a population of 4.5 million we have punched above our weight on a global scale for so long, and we continue to do so.

The passing of the marriage referendum recently, is something we can be immensely proud of, being the first country in the world to decide on same sex marriage by popular vote. Irish people from all over the world came home just to make sure their voice was heard. The world was watching us as we made history, and we have set down a marker for other countries to follow suit. America already has.

I think we have been very modest and self-deprecating in recent years, and we should be really proud of our little island in the north-west corner of Europe and what we have achieved.Yes, Ireland has its flaws like any other country, but despite the hardships, the bad times and the lows, we always seem to get on with it, put the head down and laugh about ourselves while we are doing it.

Having been to Cheltenham festival for the last couple of years, I've felt real pride over there about being Irish, seeing the winning jockey's holding the tri-colour, the Irish trad music playing in the Guinness Village, the Irish trainers roaring on their Irish bred horses, while Irish punters scream home their heroes. We dominate the equine industry and are world leaders in producing thoroughbred race horses both in the national hunt and flat scene. This is something that I think we should be very proud about, and acknowledge more on a wider scale.

Robbie McNamara winning at Cheltenham 2014

Or take the Irish rugby team who won the 6 Nations. Rugby has to compete with football, GAA, hurling and other sports. To keep the rugby talent coming through the ranks is an amazing achievement for a country of our size. England and France on the other hand, have a population that dwarfs ours, yet we still managed to come out on top this year, as we look forward to the Rugby World Cup in September where we are among the favourites.

Look at St.Patrick's Day. No other country in the world has their national holiday celebrated globally quite like ours. From Tokyo, to New York, London to Moscow, cities all over the world don the green and tip their hat to St.Patrick. Why is this? Yes, drinking and having 'the craic' might have something to do with it, and the huge number of people who claim Irish ancestry, but it's a lot more than that. The image portrayed around the world of the Irish might be a drinking one, but I think visitors to Ireland see through that, and see how generous and welcoming we are as a country. Americans seem to celebrate St.Patrick's Day more than we do.

Chicago turns green

On the stage and in Hollywood we have certainly made our presence felt. From the days of Maureen O'Hara, to Peter O'Toole and Richard Harris, to the more recent times of Pierce Brosnan, Colin Farrell, Colm Meaney, Brendan Gleeson, Gabriel Byrne, Liam Neeson, Stephen Rea, Saoirse Ronan, Daniel Day-Lewis and Liam Cunningham. These Irish actors were and still are at the top of their game, and you can hear the pride when they speak of Ireland in interviews and on the red carpet.

Farrell holding the tricolour on the red carpet

You only have to look at the UFC (and whether you love him or hate him), how proud Conor McGregor is of being an Irishman. When he fought in Boston, he called it his second home due to the warm 'Irish' welcome he received when he entered the arena to a boom of noisy fans. McGregor is certainly promoting the Irish image around the globe, and his flashy image is doing us no harm in my opinion. In a post-fight interview McGregor when mentioning his fellow Irish UFC fighters said about the Irish, "We're not here to take part, we're here to take over". Conor, it looks like we already have.

Irish boxer Katie Taylor is another great sports icon to come out of Ireland in recent years. What Katie has achieved over the last few years is remarkable, and she is certainly a great role model for girls growing up in Ireland. She won her first European Games gold medal recently, to go with the 17 gold medals she's already won. A remarkable achievement.

Oscar Wilde, George Bernard Shaw, W.B Yeats, James Joyce, Samuel Beckett, and Seamus Heaney, all Irish. These men are literary giants whose legacy is still evident today.

Bono on stage

Musicians and bands like U2, Thin Lizzy, Rory Gallagher, Hozier, Van Morrison, Snow Patrol, Enya, The Script, Sinead O'Connor and The Cranberries have all made their presence known on a world stage. U2 are arguably still the biggest band in the world.

One thing we do very well, better than most countries is volunteering and charity work. Never mind that we were in a recession, have bills and mortgages to pay, the Irish as a nation have always found a way to be charitable, give money to a good cause or simply give up their time. As someone who volunteers in Lourdes every year, I couldn't recommend it highly enough, giving up your time for a good cause or raising money for a charity.

It’s estimated that between 25% and 40% of Irish people volunteer on a frequent basis. Ireland regularly comes in top percentiles of worldwide surveys on charitable giving and volunteering – recently taking the top spot in the Good Country Index and named the most charitable country in Europe by the World Giving Index for the third year in a row.

A group of Irish volunteers in Lourdes

I can't finish without mentioning the recent tragic events in Berkeley, and the loss of 6 young Irish students. As I was writing this piece, the news broke,and although it was such a tragic event, it made me think again what it means being Irish on a global scale.

It has sent shock waves around the world, and it's hard to believe something like this can happen in this day and age, as these students were out exploring the world, and living life as it should be lived. It was hard not to be affected seeing their young faces on the front pages, and their funerals in the papers last week.

Despite this heart breaking and harrowing event, it really demonstrated to me how Ireland and Irish people, always step up in a crisis or difficult situation, and how we all come together when people are in need of help and support.

Foxrock Church

The simple act of the Foxrock Parish council opening the doors of the church, for an impromptu all night vigil for people to gather, mourn and pay their respects.One of the nuns from Loretto College in Foxrock, upon hearing of the tragedy, called a meeting of the Parish Council. While they were sitting there, they wondered what they were doing having a meeting? They went down to the church, opened the doors and started to ring the bell. People came from everywhere, just to be together, friends of the students who had died, came in droves along with many others, those with guitars played, while others prayed & sang together into the night.The church organist and a violinist also played for many hours.

Or Colin and Eithne Bell who set up the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust following the death of their son in New York in 2013 to help families repatriate their loved ones back home. Colin had already contacted the Department of Foreign Affairs on behalf of families to tell them "that the funds are there to bring their children home”. It might only be a small gesture and token to the grieving families, but it is one less thing the parents have to worry about in their time of need.

Aer Lingus stepped up also, helping fly the families over to California, and fly back to repatriate the bodies. On the flight over, Aer Lingus banned the selling of any newspapers, again, another simple and subtle gesture to shield the grieving parents from the media.

Really, for me, this is what makes me proud to be Irish, our ability to pull together, be together and understand that when our people need us, we are there, and we stand up and be counted, something I think that is embedded into the Irish psyche.