Little wonder as they continue to immerse themselves in Irish culture and literature. Yesterday, they had organised a special St Patrick's Day sell-out concert at the Rampa Theatre in Warsaw, which was the culmination of a competition they had run for Polish students on Irish literature.

Their dream is to publish a compilation in Polish of various writings, photographs and letters from the Blasket Islands.

If you think that's a pipe dream, think again. Ernest - an acclaimed poet and playwright in Poland - and Malgorzata have already translated Muiris � Suilleabhain's acclaimed book about growing up on the Great Blasket Island, Fiche Blian ag F�s ("Twenty Years A-Growing").

They did the translation in 1978 having been introduced to the Blaskets' incredible literary tradition by poet Brendan Kennelly.

And Bryll's anthology on Irish poetry - written in the late 1970s - was a bestseller in Poland. In fact it was so successful that five editions of the book have been published, making Irish poetry extremely popular in Poland in the process.

It is because of this work that arguably more Polish than Irish people are aware of Turlough O'Carolan, the blind harper and last of the bards who became known as Ireland's national composer. Two high-profile Polish rock bands - including 'Poland's U2', Mysolvitz - have recorded chart-topping versions of 'Peggy Brown', based on Bryll's translation. His explanation for the success of the anthology is simple - "They are very good poems."

Bryll enjoyed his four-year spell as Polish ambassador to Ireland between 1991 and 1995, recalling it as an intensely busy period as he had to build up the embassy from scratch.

He takes a very relaxed attitude to the fact that tens of thousand of his countrymen and women are now living in Ireland.

Dismissing suggestions from others in his country that this emigration is a tragedy, Bryll says: "For so long, it was our dream to have a free passport and be able to go and work somewhere like normal European workers. Now, for the first time, our emigrants go to countries like Ireland as normal free men and women, requiring no special permission."

He adds that with cheap flights available, it is probably quicker for young Poles to travel from Dublin to Warsaw than it is to go to the capital from somewhere on the eastern borders.