Dear Friends, A Chairde, as we prepare for the holiday season and the start of a New Year, I would like to take a moment to look back at the journey that we have shared with you in 2024. It has been a busy and memorable year, as the Consulate prepared for our move to the new Ireland House on 200 Park Avenue.
I am always impressed by the work of our community to create new programming and to approach Ireland-US relations through a fresh and innovative lens. 2024 was no different, and there were so many events and opportunities to engage across the cultural space, people-to-people links and through economic engagements.
A key part of supporting this community is having a space that is welcoming and inclusive, one that showcases what modern Ireland has to offer. After 30 fantastic years based in 345 Park Avenue, Ireland in New York began our next chapter at 200 Park Avenue - The MetLife Building. An incredible amount of work went into the establishment of this new flagship Ireland House.
The Consulate team, as well as our state agency partners and other key stakeholders, Bord Bia, CIE Tours, Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland, The Ireland Funds and Tourism Ireland (an all-island organisation which will mark its 35th anniversary next year), are very pleased to welcome you to the new home of Ireland in New York. This space is already serving as a hub of innovation and creativity, and as a platform to advance our interests and to represent our values, as a vibrant and modern country. We are especially proud to feature numerous forms of Irish art throughout the space - from furniture, to paintings, to Irish wool designs - crafted by incredibly talented Irish artists. We will use the new Ireland House to share the story of Ireland in New York and beyond.
2024 has presented us with an opportunity to showcase the best of what Ireland has to offer, to spark important discussions and to be a convener and supporter of the Irish and Irish American communities across our consular region. We have spent the year engaging closely with our community – both old and new friends – through our monthly First Friday events, which are open to all. One particular session that I recall fondly is our Brigid’s Day First Friday. In February, we hosted Dr. Leanne McCormick of Ulster University and Dr Elaine Farrell of Queen’s University Belfast to discuss their research project, "Bad Bridget." This was an excellent opportunity to delve into a project that explores the stories of crime, mayhem, and the lives of Irish emigrant women in Boston, New York, and Toronto from 1838 to 1918.
In March, the Consulate geared up for one of the busiest St. Patrick’s seasons that we have had to date and we enjoyed attending parades and events organised by our community across our full consular region. We welcomed a number of elected officials and ministers from Ireland in March and we hosted official St Patrick’s Ministerial visits to New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
The engagements with our States did not stop here. We were delighted this year to work closely with Governor Hochul’s office for her visit to Ireland and with Governor Carney of Delaware for his official trip to Ireland earlier this year. The Consulate also assisted with a visit to Ireland by a New York delegation consisting of Congressman Tim Kennedy, New York City Council members Bottcher, Brannan and Powers, and other community representatives.
The opening of the new Ireland House coincided with the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Week in September. The Consulate, together with our colleagues in Ireland’s mission to the UN, were honoured to welcome back President Michael D. Higgins and Sabina Higgins to New York. During the same week, we were also delighted to host Taoiseach Simon Harris and Tánaiste Micheál Martin for a wide range of community, political, economic, media and cultural engagements, which also included their significant UN commitments.
President Higgins addressed members of our vibrant Irish community at the Irish Arts Center, where he was awarded the Eugene O’Neill International Public Service Award by the Irish American Writers & Artists. Taoiseach Simon Harris held engagements with Governor Kathy Hochul and separately with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
The Taoiseach took the time to visit the New York Irish Center in Long Island City, where he was briefed on their essential community services. He also heard from Solace House and Origin Irish Theatre, both recipients of Emigrant Support Programme funding. The Taoiseach greeted seniors at their regular New York Irish Center luncheon and presented a plaque to congratulate Executive Director George Heslin on the NYIC’s celebration of their 20th Anniversary.
Tánaiste Micheál Martin officially launched the new Ireland House premises and cut the ribbon, alongside the leadership of our state agency and stakeholder partners. He convened a roundtable discussion with Irish community leaders and Emigrant Support Programme recipients and he also met with local political leaders and addressed the first Community Reception in the new Ireland House. It was a proud and meaningful moment when the Tánaiste welcomed the community to this new space, named after Annie Moore, the Irish teenager who became the first recorded emigrant at Ellis Island.
September was an incredible opportunity to welcome our community to their new home in New York and to hear firsthand from Government leaders about Ireland’s commitment to the diaspora, to supporting our community and to the Ireland-US relationship. This was particularly poignant given that 2024 also marks the one hundred anniversary of diplomatic relations between Ireland and the United States of America.
The mutually beneficial relationship between Ireland and the United States continues to grow stronger and stronger due, in no small part, to our outstanding Irish community here. The Consulate greatly values your support for our work and your steadfast engagement with us.
All of you, Irish, Irish-American and those with affinity for Ireland, are key players in this work to enhance and grow our relations. As Seamus Heaney says in his poem From the Republic of Conscience, which we have inscribed on the glass wall of our event space in Ireland House - “Their embassies, he said, were everywhere but operated independently, and no ambassador would ever be relieved.” I know that we can count on you to continue your work in fostering economic and cultural ties, supporting one another, and remaining committed to building upon this vibrant two-way relationship.
Ireland is incredibly proud to support so many of our vital community and cultural organisations through the Emigrant Support Programme (ESP). In 2024, the Consulate supported some 40 organisations across our region. The Government remains committed to supporting these invaluable organisations that do so much to shape and promote a modern and inclusive image of Irish culture, language, sport and values, in addition to being a lifeline for many vulnerable citizens in their respective communities.
Looking forward to 2025, I am excited for the opportunities ahead, to strengthen our shared ties and to continue to build a positive and updated vision of what Ireland is in 2025. The journey continues. Thank you all for the work that you all do in promoting Ireland, and Irish values and interests, in New York and in the United States. My team at the Consulate in New York join with me and my husband Sami in wishing you all a joyous, safe and healthy holiday season and a very Happy New Year! Happy Holidays! Beannachtaí na Nollag Oraibh!
