Minister Byrne visits Poland to commence St Patrick’s Day programme

Minister Byrne visits Poland to commence St Patrick's Day programme

• From: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

• Published on: 13 March 2026
• Last updated on: 13 March 2026

Minister of State for European Affairs and Defence, Thomas Byrne TD, has today (13 March) begun a three-day visit to Poland as part of his St Patrick's Day outreach to Poland, Ukraine and Moldova. The Minister will visit Warsaw and Łódź for a series of engagements marking St Patrick's Day, including political meetings, as well as community and cultural events.

Ahead of the visit, the Minister said: "My St Patrick's Day visit to Poland comes at a critical time internationally, marked by conflict and acute global instability. Ireland and Poland are strong partners in the EU and the UN, as well as close bilateral partners. We align on many issues, not least our unwavering support for Ukraine, in the face of Russian's illegal and unprovoked aggression.

"The Ireland-Poland relationship is underpinned by extraordinary people-to-people links, with Polish being the third most spoken language in Ireland. The programme of engagements in Warsaw and Łódź provides the opportunity to further deepen our political, trade, cultural and people-to-people links, and to celebrate St Patrick's Day with our dynamic Irish community across Poland.

"Ireland's place is at the heart of Europe, and our relationship with Poland is central to addressing our shared challenges and opportunities. I look forward to setting out Ireland's plans for our EU Presidency, which gets underway in just over three months' time. At a time of unprecedented challenges, strong EU unity based on shared values, together with security and defence, is of greater importance than ever."

In Warsaw, the Minister will meet with his Polish counterpart, the Secretary of State for European Affairs, Ignacy Niemczycki, to discuss major files on the EU agenda of shared interest, including enlargement of the Union, where both countries support advancing the accession process for candidate countries.

On EU enlargement, the Minister said: "During Ireland's EU Presidency, I will chair the EU General Affairs Council, and EU enlargement will be a significant priority on the agenda. We want to see good progress made for the leading candidate countries."

While in Warsaw, Minister Byrne will also meet with the Polish Association of Irish Studies and with the Chair of the Polish Parliament's EU Affairs Committee, Agnieszka Pomaska. The Minister will deliver remarks at the National Day Reception on the evening of 13 March.

In Łódź, the Minister will attend a concert given by Clonmel musician, Ruth Dillon, meet with the Mayor of Łódź, and attend the opening of the city's St. Patrick's Day Festival and parade.