Simon Coveney plays an absolute blinder on BBC Radio 4

Foreign Minister Simon Coveney played an absolute blinder on BBC Radio 4 yesterday.

He was interviewed on the late afternoon programme, Political Thinking by BBC journalist and anchor man Nick Robinson.

It was a mix of his own personal life, his political career, then his job as Minister for Foreign Affairs, about which he quipped, it means he is Ireland's Brexit minister.

In the most eloquent of terms he explained the damage that the British government is inflicting on itself by breaking an international treaty. He told Nick Robinson how Boris Johnson was reneging on an agreement he had made with An Taoiseach in the Wirral.

While accepting the Brexit vote of four years ago, he explained why he believed the United Kingdom voted no and then went on to point out why he personally believes they have made an historically mistake.

Mr Coveney alluded to how so many in Britain do not understand Ireland and the Irish. He mentioned  his own family's links with England on his mother's side and how his older brother, Patrick, manages Greencore, which is the largest sandwich manufacturer in the world and employee over 15,000 people in the UK

Nick Robinson brought him back to the tragic death of his father, which allowed Simon to recall how he had entered politics at the young age of 25.

The Foreign Minister spoke about the terror of growing up with a severe stutter and how he overcame it. These days he talks in schools and colleges and to young people suffering from stutters, giving them tips in how to beat the speech impediment.

The 30-minute interview was a master class in how to perform on radio.

Well done Mr Coveney.