A growing Irish network in Norway and Iceland
Meet Ireland’s Honorary Consuls in Norway and Iceland
Ireland’s connection to Norway began long before the establishment of the Embassy in Oslo. Since the Viking settlements in Ireland in the 10th Century, there have been deep historical connections. Today, the team has expanded from Embassy of Ireland in Oslo to include two Honorary Consuls, Gavin Collins and Jens Thordarson in Iceland and the south west of Norway.
With the work of the Embassy reaching to the northern and westernmost parts of Europe, our two Honorary Consuls significantly enhance the delivery of services to Irish citizens no matter where they may find themselves – even as far as inside the Arctic circle, alongside the volcanic and seismic activity there.
To celebrate their contribution to the work done in in Norway and Iceland, we took the opportunity to sit down with both of our Honorary Consuls to learn more about what the job involves.
Meet the Honorary Consuls
Gavin Collins - Honorary Consul in Bergen
Gavin Collins, originally from Drogheda, Co. Louth is an Irish businessman who has been living in Bergen on Norway’s west coast for close to 20 years. Collins’ considerable experience in business has been invaluable in facilitating connections for Irish companies, including through Enterprise Ireland and Innovation Norway.
Collins moved to Norway in August 2008 but maintains strong links to Ireland through a family home in Achill, Co. Mayo. “We live in [Bergen], the wettest city in Europe and we holiday somewhere wetter!” he laughs.
Life in Bergen
Famous wet weather aside, Collins says that life is good in Bergen: “Once you can live with the climate, what I like about Bergen is that it is international. There’s a lot of tourism, it has an international feel. It feels closer to home than Oslo.” That’s certainly true with the introduction of direct flights from Bergen to Dublin with Wideroe in 2022, an initiative on which Collins worked closely with the airline and the Embassy.
When he first arrived, Collins found a community especially through his involvement in rugby. Although a minority sport in Norway, it had a tight-knit community, with both one-time Head Coach, Richard White, and Assistant Coach, Robert Gannon, for the Men’s National team hailing from Ireland.
Collins feels that Bergen is the perfect size to have the benefits of city living, while also being small enough that it is possible to develop a real sense of community. “It’s the gateway to the fjords,” he says. “Sometimes it’s just jaw-droppingly beautiful.”
Community and the Honorary Consul
Gavin also got involved in the Bergen Irish society. Established in the 1980s, the Society began when newly arrived Irish people combed the phone book for other Irish names in the area.
The Society has gotten a new lease of life in recent years. Many Irish when they first arrive don’t want to be placed into a “box marked ‘Irish’ but often after they have kids, they really take an interest in sharing their Irishness,” Collins notes.
This is evident through the lively Christmas and St Patrick’s Day festivities, as well as a summer Fleadh, many of which receive funding from the Government’s Emigrant Support Programme.
For Collins, who has been Honorary Consul since 2019, the job has meant closer ties to the Irish community in Bergen. To help this community is what makes the job, whether that is getting home after having lost their passport, or if challenges that are more serious crop up. An Honorary Consul can be called upon at any time of the day or night, and usually outside of office hours.
One recent highlight for Collins was attending the launch of the Festspillene Programme 2026 in Bergen, in his role as Honorary Consul. The festival, running since 1953, is the premier festival for music and theatre across the entire Nordic region.
Reflecting on his time in Norway and as Honorary Consul so far, Collins notes a change in Norway, and Norway’s ideas about Ireland:
The direct flight means Ireland is more on people’s radar in Bergen now. The younger generation, who grew up after the oil boom, have a much better sense of Ireland as a country on the world stage with a dynamic economy.
Since 2024, Collins has also been a member of the board of the Corps Consulaire de Bergen, which works to support business, political and cultural links with Bergen and beyond.
Jens Thordarson - Honorary Consul in Reykjavik
Jens Thordarson, our Honorary Consul in Reykjavík, Iceland since 2019, is an engineer by background. However, Thordarson has spent most of his working life in the airline industry.
It was through this work that he first had contact with Ireland and Irish people. He spent many years working with regular visits to both Dublin and Shannon. More recently, he has changed direction toward land-based salmon farming, although he maintains a foothold in the travel industry in Iceland.
Appointed in 2019, this new venture allows him to use his engineering background in new ways, while his other interests mean he has a broad set of contacts across Iceland, that can be helpful in his Honorary Consul role for Ireland.
A burgeoning connection
“Being Honorary Consul is definitely one of the more enjoyable things that I have taken on in my career,” he says. “What surprised me is how few Irish actually live and work here. Sadly, in my opinion, compared to our other close neighbours.” He believes that the Irish in Iceland are very well integrated into Icelandic society and tend to refer to themselves Icelandic Irish or vice versa.
Currently, there are around 150 Irish people who call Iceland home, according to Iceland’s national population statistics. The Irish population in Iceland is diverse. It includes long-serving priests such as Fr Denis O’Leary originally from Cork, but living in Iceland close to four decades, to newer arrivals interested in the creative opportunities available in Iceland, or undertaking post-graduate study at the Universities of Iceland or Akureyri.
“It has been amazing to get to know so many different people and help them with their challenges,”
On Ireland itself, Thordarson was struck he says when he first travelled there by the similarities with Iceland. “That’s kind of what has driven me to taking on this role. We have the same kind of character, the same outlook on life. So that actually was what struck me most. We are much more alike the Irish than say the Norwegians or the Danish. It felt almost indistinguishable from home to me.”
Openness and opportunity
Like Collins in Bergen, for Thordarson the task of being Honorary Consul is one where he wishes to see more connections and links developed between Iceland and Ireland. “I am happy to open doors for Irish businesses in Iceland and to help drive good relationships. I encourage people to get in touch and use this resource they have here in Iceland.”
“When it comes to Irish people who need help, sometimes they are surprised that I am Icelandic. They are also surprised at the flexibility that comes with dealing with an individual affords – that they come at weird times, or to my home.” Thordarson continues,saying that: “it might seem peculiar when you are dealing with a delicate matter but people are always very happy that some Icelandic guy is willing to go the extra mile for the Irish!”
Among the highlights in his time as Honorary Consul so far, was the occasion on which he had the opportunity to travel in Iceland with the former President of Ireland, Mary Robinson while she attended a conference.
He describes the experience of speaking to Robinson as they drove around Iceland as “completely exceptional”. She even offered him advice on problems he was facing at work, he says: “Getting to know this unique person was incredible. She is obviously, as you all know, extraordinary.”