Government announces biggest ever St Patrick’s Day Programme

The government today announced the 2023 St Patrick's Day programme, which will see the Taoiseach, Tánaiste and Government Ministers take part in an extensive international programme to promote Ireland and Irish interests around the world.

This year’s programme will see the widest yet engagement by Ireland with Ministers reaching out to partner governments and Irish communities on every continent. In all, 36 representatives of the State will bring Ireland’s message to 74 cities in 44 countries.

St Patrick’s Day offers an unmatched opportunity to promote Ireland abroad. It is an important part of the government’s ‘Global Ireland’ strategy which seeks to promote Ireland as an outstanding location to live, visit, work, invest in, trade with, and study.

This year, St Patrick’s Day will mark ‘100 Years of Ireland in the World’, a century of our country’s engagement as an active member of the international community in the promotion of democracy, peace and security. Ministers will acknowledge a number of important milestones which occur this year: The centenary of Ireland’s joining the League of Nations, the fiftieth anniversary of our accession to the then EEC, and the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

Ministers will emphasise Ireland’s commitment to the international rules-based multilateral system, our membership of the European Union and our commitment to protecting the Good Friday Agreement. The Ministerial programme will celebrate our heritage and renew our links with our global Diaspora and business leaders.

The objectives for the SPD 2023 programme are as follows:

on its 25th anniversary, to reiterate our support for consolidating the achievements of the Good Friday Agreement
emphasise the importance and value of our membership of the European Union on the 50th anniversary of our accession to the European Communities
re-affirm Ireland’s steadfast commitment to the people of Ukraine
connect with Irish communities overseas and emphasise the importance of our Diaspora
build further on relationships with key political leaders, business leaders, decision makers, influencers and stakeholders across the world
celebrate Ireland’s contemporary and traditional arts, culture and heritage
promote Ireland as a great place to live, visit, work, invest in, trade with, and study

Notes

The following visits will take place as part of the St. Patrick’s Day programme.

Role	Name	Cities/countries
Taoiseach	Leo Varadkar	US - Washington
Tánaiste	Micheál Martin	US - New York and Boston
Minister	Eamon Ryan	Singapore and China - Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai
Minister	Michael McGrath	US - Chicago and Canada - Toronto
Minister	Paschal Donohoe	Germany - Frankfurt, Cologne and Berlin
Minister	Simon Coveney	Australia - Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra and Perth
Minister	Norma Foley	US - Philadelphia
Minister	Catherine Martin	US - Los Angeles and San Diego
Minister	Darragh O'Brien	US - Atlanta and Savannah
Minister	Heather Humphreys	UK - London and England
Minister	Charlie McConalogue	New Zealand - Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch
Minister	Roderic O'Gorman	India - Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangladesh - Dhaka
Minister	Stephen Donnelly	Canada
Minister	Simon Harris	US - San Francisco and Canada - Vancouver
Chief Whip and Minister of State	Hildegarde Naughton	US - Miami and Mexico
Minister of State	Peter Burke	Italy and Holy See
Minister of State	Sean Fleming	Brazil
Minister of State	Patrick O'Donovan	Thailand and Indonesia
Minister of State	Ossian Smyth	Belgium and Netherlands
Minister of State	Josepha Madigan	UAE and Qatar
Minister of State	Niall Collins	Malaysia and Philippines
Minister of State	Jack Chambers	Japan
Minister of State	Senator Pippa Hackett	Kenya and Tanzania
Minister of State	Martin Heydon	Korea
Minister of State	Anne Rabbitte	South Africa - Johannesburg, Pretoria and Cape Town
Minister of State	Neale Richmond	Spain and Portugal
Minister of State	Joe O'Brien	Poland
Minister of State	Kieran O'Donnell	Croatia and Slovenia
Minister of State	Malcolm Noonan	Austria, Slovakia, Czechia and Romania
Minister of State	Dara Calleary	France - Paris, Strasbourg and Lyon
Minister of State	Thomas Byrne	US - Austin, Dallas and Texas
Minister of State	Jennifer Carroll MacNeill	UK - Edinburgh, Cardiff and Liverpool
Minister of State	James Browne	Cyprus and Jordan
Ceann Comhairle	Seán Ó Fearghaíl	Lebanon
Cathaoirleach	Jerry Buttimer	Sierra Leone and Liberia
Attorney General	Rossa Fanning SC	Argentina and Chile