Welcome Message
Welcome to the website of the Embassy of Ireland in Poland.
Our goal is to continue to develop the strong links between Ireland and Poland, and I want to highlight three priorities in particular.
The most important priority for the Embassy is providing consular services for any Irish people visiting or living in Poland. We hope that any visit you make to Poland will bring only pleasant experiences, but if you are in need of Consular assistance, our Embassy team are here to help, with the support of our Honorary Consulate in Poznań. You’ll find details of our consular services and contact details on our site.
Secondly, we work closely with the Polish government on international issues. These are challenging times for Europe following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. We are in regular contact with Polish interlocutors on how we respond effectively together to the challenges we face in the EU: on security, energy, economy and other issues.
In December, Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth Roderic O’Gorman visited Poland. In March, we welcomed Minister Joe O’Brien, who also has a responsibility for this crucial issue of integrating refugees. These visits presented valuable opportunities to see first-hand Poland’s remarkable response in welcoming so many Ukrainian refugees, and to discuss how countries are addressing the challenges caused by Russia’s aggression.
The third area of the Embassy’s work is building the bilateral relationship between Ireland and Poland: on trade, culture, education and people to people links.
Trade between Ireland and Poland continues to flourish, and the Embassy aims to support further growth. Total trade between Ireland and Poland is now over €5.6 billion annually, and is growing by around 20 per cent year on year. In May, Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation Dara Calleary visited Poland with a trade delegation of over 30 companies. They came away hugely impressed and enthused by the potential for further growth.
Ireland’s enterprise agencies, Enterprise Ireland and Bord Bia, are part of Team Ireland in Poland, and work closely with other non-resident Ireland agencies.
Our cultural connections are also stronger than ever. This year will see the launch of the Heaney-Miłosz Residency, where an Irish writer, Alice Lyons will stay in the former apartment of Polish Nobel Prize Winner Czesław Miłosz in Kraków. This will be a powerful legacy of the friendship between Seamus Heaney and Czesław Miłosz, as well as a demonstration of the literary links between Ireland and Poland.
As I’ve travelled around Poland so far I’ve been struck by the deep affection for Ireland, and the very strong links between our two countries. So many of the people I have met have friends or family in Ireland, or fond memories of visits there. So far, I’ve visited nine of the 16 Voivodeships – I hope to travel to many more this year!
As you will see throughout our website, there is a great deal happening in the Irish-Polish relationship. Keep in touch by reading our regular Newsletter, or following us on Facebook or X (formerly Twitter) @IrlEmbWarsaw and @IEAmbPoland.
Patrick Haughey