Embassy Newsletter - Winter 2024

On 1 May 2004, Poland, along with nine other countries, joined the European Union. Ireland was President of the EU at the time, so the official ceremony – the Day of Welcomes – took place in the Phoenix Park in Dublin.

20 years on from that historic date, the ties between Ireland and Poland have never been closer. Each day, our governments work side by side on the challenges facing Europe, including Russia’s war against Ukraine, and the need to boost Europe’s competitiveness.

The connections between our governments have never been so extensive. Taoiseach Simon Harris visited Poland in April and September for discussions with Prime Minister Tusk. Ministers Browne and Carroll MacNeill visited Warsaw to discuss migration and anti-money laundering. The Ceann Comhairle (speaker of Parliament) visited Kraków and Auschwitz-Birkenau. We have also had a series of consultations at official level, with the Secretary General, Political Director, and Director General for Europe from the Department of Foreign Affairs; and officials from the Department of Finance all visiting Warsaw in 2024. At every level, Irish-Polish cooperation has never been more intense.

Our trade and investment has reached record levels. Two-way trade between Ireland and Poland grew to over €7.4 billion in 2022, and we see significant potential for further growth. In May, Minister Calleary led a successful trade mission to Wrocław and Warsaw, which identified areas for future cooperation. It has been a pleasure to meet many Irish companies throughout the year, who are going from strength to strength in the Polish market. We see huge opportunities for further growth in the coming years.

What makes the Irish-Polish relationship so strong is our people-to-people links. Everywhere I have been in Poland, I have met people with strong links to Ireland – those who once lived there themselves, and have since returned, or those who have friends or family living in Ireland. A particular thank you to all the schools and universities in Poland who have written to us throughout the year, to update us on their studies of Ireland and Irish culture. In September, I hosted an event for translators and publishers of Irish literature in Poland and, in October, I had the pleasure of attending a conference organised by the Polish Association of Irish Studies in Kraków. In December, I met online with students from 35 schools, all over the country. It is fantastic to see such interest in Irish literature, cinema, music and history in Poland.

Looking ahead to 2025, we have even more to discuss. We look forward to Poland’s Presidency of the European Union in the first half of the year, which will include 22 Ministerial visits and around 300 official visits. We have much to work on: Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine continues; the Draghi and Letta reports have set out the stark challenges facing Europe’s economy; we want to make progress on enlargement; we want to tackle the problem of climate change; and adjust successfully to new technologies like A.I. These challenges are complex, and are best approached together as friends. The Irish-Polish partnership will be working closer together than ever.

Before then, however, it is a moment to spend time with friends and family, and enjoy the Christmas season. From all of us at the Embassy, we wish you a very happy Christmas, and every health and happiness in 2025.

Patrick Haughey
Ambassador of Ireland to Poland

After a busy first half of the year, the second half of 2024 saw several more high-level visits from Ireland to Poland.

• In September, Taoiseach Simon Harris visited for a second time this year. The Taoiseach had a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Donald Tusk, in Rzeszów. The two leaders discussed a range of EU and international issues, including Ireland’s strong support for Ukraine. They also discussed the excellent bilateral relationship between Ireland and Poland, such as the deepening people-to-people, cultural and economic links, underpinned by our shared EU membership. You can read more about the Taoiseach’s visit here.

Poland’s Presidency of the European Union commences on 1 January 2025, and December has seen a number of advance engagements:

• Officials from the Department of Finance and the Department of Foreign Affairs visited Warsaw for consultations with their counterparts in Poland’s ministries.

• Maeve von Heynitz, Director General of the European Union Division in the Department of Foreign Affairs, met with her counterparts in the Polish government. DG von Heynitz also met foreign policy analysts, the chairperson of the EU Affairs Parliamentary Committee, and UNHCR’s representative in Poland.

• Joe Hackett, Secretary General of the Department of Foreign Affairs, took part in a meeting of EU State Secretaries and Secretaries General. They discussed priorities of the Polish Presidency, and the foreign policy challenges facing the EU.

The Embassy’s engagement across Poland has continued also:

• In October, Ambassador Haughey met with the Mayor of Kraków, Aleksander Miszalski. They discussed the strong political, economic and cultural linkages between Ireland and Poland. The Ambassador thanked the Mayor for the support of the City of Kraków with the Heaney-Miłosz Residency programme. You can read more about this visit here.

To kick off the Christmas season, the Ambassador was pleased to host some of the Irish community in Poland for a festive gathering.

It was welcome opportunity to reflect on the year that was. Thank you to all who could join us!

In July, the Embassy gathered with friends to wish Piotr Szyrle well in his retirement.

Since the Embassy first opened its doors in September 1990, Piotr has been the Embassy’s driver, serving eight Ambassadors and hundreds of official visits. Thank you Piotr, for being such a wonderful colleague, and friend.

In October, the Heaney Estate, the Embassy of Ireland Warsaw, and KBF – Krakowskie Biuro Festiwalowe, launched the second edition of the Heaney-Miłosz Residency programme. The Heaney-Miłosz Residency offers the chance for an emerging or mid-career writer, resident on the island of Ireland, to spend up to six weeks next year in the city of Kraków, Poland. Following a competitive selection process, the selected writer will stay in the former apartment of Polish poet and writer Czesław Miłosz.

In September, to mark International Day of Translators, the Embassy of Ireland in Poland hosted Sinéad Mac Aodha, of Literature Ireland, to meet with Polish translators of Irish literature, publishers and academics. At the Ambassador’s residence in Warsaw, the group shared their experiences, knowledge and love of literature. Ambassador Patrick Haughey expressed his thanks to literary translators for their contribution to bringing the cultures and people together.

In October, The Polish Association of Irish Studies, with the support of the Embassy of Ireland, organised a conference in Kraków. Ambassador Haughey delivered the opening lecture, titled Irish-Polish Relations, Past Present and Future. You can read his remarks here.

The Embassy was also pleased to support an appearance by Sebastian Barry at this year’s Conrad Festival in Kraków. The audience was treated to an enthralling discussion between Sebastian and Magda Heydel, of Jagiellonian University, on the Irish writer’s inspirations and creative process.

Also in October, the Embassy’s Head of Political, Seán Ó Riain, attended the 20th Irish Poetry and Song Competition in Poznań. It was a very successful event, with over 100 attending and 29 finalists, from a total of 65 competitors. You can read more about the Competition here.

In November, Seán Ó Riain visited Poznań. He spoke to over 120 students from a number of secondary schools. The event included a dialogue with Justyna Schramm of the Irish Culture Foundation, in which they discussed several aspects of Irish history and culture, and the Irish language. You can read more about Seán’s visit here.

In October, the Embassy’s Consul, Rob Enright, travelled to Bydgoszcz, to meet with newly arrived students to the English Department at NCU Collegium Medicum. It was an excellent opportunity to connect with the newest members of the Irish community in Poland. Thank you to our friends at Medical Poland for the invitation.

Each year, the Embassy publishes a guide for newly arrived Irish students in Poland. The ‘Guide for Irish Students in Poland’ includes a host of helpful information for new arrivals about life in Poland, and the resources available to them from the Embassy. If you are an Irish student in Poland, make sure you get the guide, here.

In September, Catherine Kenny, from the Irish Council of Prisoners Overseas (ICPO), visited Poland. The ICPO provides information and support to Irish prisoners overseas, and their families. Ambassador Haughey hosted lunch for Ms Kenny with a representative from the Helsinki Foundation of Human Rights. You can read more about the ICPO on their website here.

Citizens' Registration

We encourage all Irish residents of Poland to register with the Embassy via our Citizens' Registration platform. This allows us to reach you in case of emergency. You can also sign up to receive news about upcoming events in Poland. Register here.

As ever, we encourage you to follow travel advice of the Department of Foreign Affairs. You can find that here.

Passports

Irish Passports can be renewed from anywhere in the world using Passport Online. First time applicants in Poland can also apply online. More information here.

In November, the fourth ‘ReBuild Ukraine’ Expo was held in Warsaw. The Expo was well attended by government representatives, the European Commission, business, trade associations and representative bodies. Enterprise Ireland hosted a stand at the Conference, with a view to assessing the opportunities available and considering how best they might support interested clients. Two EI client companies, CDGA Consultants and Matrix Internet, participated in the event. Ambassador Haughey and Chris Flood from the Economic Unit of the Department of Foreign Affairs also attended.

The Irish Polish Chamber of Commerce is a friendly and outward-focused Chamber, run by a dedicated group of volunteers. It acts as a focal point for the Irish business community in Poland as well for Irish people living in Poland and Polish nationals with Irish connections. Working frequently with the Irish Embassy and Enterprise Ireland, the Chamber performs this function by regularly organising networking meetings and social events – which include family events in May and December in Warsaw – and business mixers with other chambers of commerce as well as business and economic briefings throughout the year. Whether you are an entrepreneur in Poland or a professional working in an organisation, the Irish Chamber of Commerce offers a ready-made community of friendly, approachable and interesting people whose love of Poland is matched only by their special connection to Ireland. Membership is open to individuals as well as businesses, with very reasonable annual fees that offer excellent value. To find out more about us and potentially join the Chamber community, check out our website at www.irishpolish.pl and get in touch with Brian Mason today at brianmason@irishpolish.pl.

Flavours of Ireland 2024

Once again, the Chamber successfully hosted the annual Flavours of Ireland at Aruba Restaurant in Warsaw in September, where around 100 guests enjoyed a fabulous evening of mingling and networking, over delicious Irish food and drink.

Sponsors ABP Meats and Dawn Meats provided the highest quality Irish beef and lamb, which enabled the talented chefs at Aruba to prepare a range of traditional Irish dishes, including shepherd’s pie, roast beef and lamb chops, served with tasty potatoes from Tim Bergin. Dairygold supplied a range of Irish cheeses, and Tullamore D.E.W. provided the bar, serving a selection of their whiskey cocktails throughout the evening. The event was a fantastic opportunity for Chamber members to meet with other members of the Irish community as well as Polish friends of Ireland.

Upcoming events

The Chamber will host its annual economic outlook briefing on Poland with Maciej Reluga, Chief Economist at Santander Bank Polska, in February 2025. In March, Chamber Member, Hansberry Tomkiel law firm will host a breakfast workshop on the topic 'Selling goods and services online in light of UOKiK's decisions and investigations - how to reduce risks for business'.

Contact us to find out more about how the Chamber can support you and your business.