St. Patrick's Day

Every year, from Madrid to Malaga and from Barcelona to Bilbao, and plenty of locations in between, there are great celebrations of all things Irish on St. Patrick's Day itself - March 17th - and in the days and weeks around it. The Embassy participates in and organises many special events and uses the opportunity to promote Ireland.

St. Patrick's Day is a global celebration of what it means to be Irish; the spirit, the determination, the creativity and that indefinable something that makes us who we are. Ireland is capable of great things and every year, the Embassy uses St. Patrick's Day to show the world just what we can do.

St. Patrick’s Day 2019

In 2019 the Embassy worked with Enterprise Ireland, Bord Bia and Tourism Ireland to deliver an intensive programme of activities during the visit to Madrid of the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Michael Creed, T.D. Our objectives were to build closer EU cooperation, strengthen links between Ireland and Spain and promote trade, tourism and our culture.

The visit included meetings with the Spanish Government, contacts in the important food, fisheries and livestock sectors, media interviews rounded off with a celebration of St Patrick’s Day with the Irish community and Spanish friends in Madrid.

We also worked together to continue the tradition of Spain’s participation in the Global Greening. The greening of sites across the Spanish peninsula and islands once again generated lots of media coverage and interest in Ireland.

What we do

One of our great strengths as a country is our people and during the St. Patrick's Day period, visits by Government Ministers complement the ongoing work of our Embassy network and state agencies in promoting awareness and confidence in Ireland's economic recovery, as well as showcasing what we have to offer as a nation.

Ministers take part in a range of different events, including meetings about trade, tourism and investment opportunities, media interviews, networking events, and bilateral meetings with national, regional and local ministers, along with other high-profile events such as Greening ceremonies.

Growing our economy

The focus on Ireland on St. Patrick's Day gives us a valuable opportunity to show the world that this country is open for business and to underline the close trade links between Spain and Ireland. We encourage the building of relationships, investment and tourism.

Sharing our culture

We celebrate our rich culture and heritage and we’re proud of its influence on world literature, art and music. St. Patrick’s Day is a great chance for us to share our culture with others, especially in countries where there's less awareness of Ireland. Our Embassy staff work closely with Culture Ireland to stage many cultural events around St. Patrick's Day, drawing lots of positive publicity for Irish culture and for Ireland as a place to visit, study and do business.

Saying thank you

St. Patrick's Day is a great time for Ireland to engage with and thank long-standing partners, friends, voluntary and community organisations and Irish communities around the world for their ongoing support and the contributions they make to this country.