Ireland has been accepted as a member of the international organisation of francophone nations amid concern that Brexit could leave its English-speaking diplomats out in the cold.

It may not be the land of “bonjour” but the country was authorised to become an observer member of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie — the French equivalent of the Commonwealth — at a summit in Armenia attended by President Emmanuel Macron.

Dublin’s application came amid concerns it lacks clout in continents such as Africa, where France retains extensive links in French-speaking countries, notably in the West.

Joining the club, even as an observer, was part of an attempt to “double the scope and impact of Ireland’s global footprint in the period to 2025”, Helen McEntee, Ireland’s European affairs minister, told the summit.

Brushing off claims that the Irish are no more versed in le français than the British, she insisted her countrymen had a “passion” for French, reminding doubters that Oscar Wilde and Samuel Beckett wrote some of their works in French.