St. Patrick’s Day 2026 Celebrations in Lusaka

The event was graced by our Guest of Honour, Minister of Tourism Hon. Rodney Sikumba, and was attended by government officials, members of the diplomatic corps, the Irish community in Zambia, private sector representatives, Embassy partners, and friends of Ireland.

In his remarks, Ambassador Aidan Fitzpatrick highlighted the enduring bonds of friendship between Ireland and Zambia, which have their origins both before and after Zambia’s Independence in 1964, and emphasised how working together to protect our shared international values is vital in order to address the ever-increasing conflict and challenges facing the world today. Minister Sikumba expressed appreciation and reflected on the strong and growing relations between Zambia and Ireland, a partnership that is built on shared democratic values, mutual respect, and a common commitment to improving people’s lives and he called for more trade and investment cooperation as well as collaboration on Tourism.

Entertainment during the reception was provided by a group of visiting Irish musicians and an Irish dancer. Their visit was arranged by the Wild Geese, the Zambian Irish Community organisation. There was also a spectacular performance by Zambia’s amazing Barefeet Theatre Company. Even our guests got involved in the dancing, being led through the ‘Siege of Ennis’ by the visiting Irish dancer, Laura Lundey!

In the lead-up to the event, Ambassador Fitzpatrick engaged in a number of media events, including a radio interview on HOT FM Zambia and a television interview on ZNBC TV1. With a combined listenership and viewership of approx. 1.4 million, this provided an opportunity to highlight the Zambia Ireland partnership and the planned full week of celebrations and entertainment organised by the embassy and the Wild Geese.

Celebrations began with the St. Patrick’s Day Ball on the 14th March and concluded with ‘Paddy’s Day Out’ on 21 March, a family friendly Irish sports and Irish entertainment day out which attracted over 1000 people. The winners of the GAA (Irish football) tournament were the ‘Sables Shamrocks’ from Kabwe, Central Province who are also due to represent Zambia at the World GAA games in Waterford in Ireland in July 2026.

Every year the Embassy is proud and grateful for the opportunity to share our culture and values with the people of Zambia, building new people-to-people connections and deepening wonderful friendship between our two countries. We look forward to celebrating again in 2027!