Government announces St Patrick’s Day Programme 2025
- Published on: 12 February 2025
- Last updated on: 12 April 2025
The government today announced the St Patrick's Day programme for 2025, which will see the Taoiseach, Tánaiste, and representatives of the State engage in programmes to promote Ireland and Irish interests and values in the world.
St Patrick’s Day offers a unique opportunity to promote Ireland’s interests around the world and to promote Ireland as a place to invest, visit, work or study. This year, 38 representatives of the State will bring Ireland’s message to more than 90 cities in 40 countries.
The overall message of SPD 2025 will focus on the ambitions outlined in the Programme for Government, emphasising Ireland’s outlook and attractiveness as a small, open trading economy, with our economic success rooted in this openness and our willingness to build partnerships
Ministers will promote Irish investment overseas, international research and education collaborations, mutually beneficial partnerships between Irish and overseas companies and the successes and growth of overseas companies that have chosen Ireland as their base in Europe.
The St Patrick’s Day programme offers an unparalleled opportunity to build relationships with key political and business leaders, decision makers, and cultural and academic partners; to communicate the consistent, principled and constructive approach that characterises our foreign policy; to celebrate Ireland’s contemporary and traditional arts, culture and heritage; and to highlight the achievements and impact of our Global Ireland strategy.
Annex: Ministerial travel to US for St Patrick’s Day 2025
| Title | Deputy | Destination |
| Taoiseach | Micheál Martin | Texas and Washington, DC |
| Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs & Trade; Minister for Defence | Simon Harris | Philadelphia and New York |
| Minister for Climate, Environment and Energy and Minister for Transport | Darragh O’Brien | Miami and Los Angeles |
| Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment | Peter Burke | Boston and New Hampshire |
| Minister for Social Protection and Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht | Dara Calleary | Atlanta and Savannah |
| Minister for Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport | Patrick O’Donovan | Seattle and San Francisco |
| Minister for Health | Jennifer Carroll MacNeill | UN Commission on the Status of Women, New York and Chicago |
| Attorney General | Rossa Fanning SC | Michigan and Montana |
| Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment with special responsibility for Small Businesses and Retail and the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications with special responsibility for Circular Economy | Alan Dillon | Utah (and Vancouver in Canada) |
Annex: Ministerial travel to other locations for St Patrick’s Day 2025
| Title | Deputy | Destination |
| Minister for Finance | Paschal Donohoe | Germany |
| Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation | Jack Chambers | Chile and Argentina |
| Minister for Children, Disability and Equality | Norma Foley | London |
| Minister for Education and Youth | Helen McEntee | Australia |
| Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration | Jim O’Callaghan | Italy, Holy See and Malta |
| Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage | James Browne | China |
| Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science | James Lawless | India |
| Government Chief Whip and Minister of State attending cabinet with responsibility for Mental Health | Mary Butler | Denmark and Sweden |
| Minister of State attending cabinet with responsibility for Disability | Hildegarde Naughton | Japan |
| Minister of State attending cabinet with responsibility for Food Promotion, New Markets, Research and Development | Noel Grealish | Vietnam and Cambodia |
| Minister of State attending cabinet with responsibility for International and Road Transport, Logistics, Rail and Ports | Sean Canney | Brazil |
| Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach and the Department of Foreign Affairs with special responsibility for European Affairs and at the Department of Defence | Thomas Byrne | France |
| Minister of State at the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media with Special Responsibility for Sport and Postal Policy | Charlie McConalogue | Colombia |
| Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform with responsibility for the Office of Public Work | Kevin Boxer Moran | Portugal |
| Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform with special responsibility for Public Procurement, Digitalisation and eGovernment | Emer Higgins | Western Australia |
| Minister of State at the Department of Finance with special responsibility for Financial Services, Credit Unions and Insurance | Robert Troy | Czechia |
| Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs with special responsibility for International Development and Diaspora | Neale Richmond | Kenya and Tanzania |
| Minister of State at the Department of Rural and Community Development, with special responsibility for Community Development, Charities, Gaeltacht and the Islands and the Department of Transport with special responsibility for Rural Transport | Jerry Buttimer | New Zealand |
| Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage with special responsibility for Local Government and Planning | John Cummins | Thailand and the Philippines |
| Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage with special responsibility for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity | Christopher O’Sullivan | Norway & Poland |
| Minister of State at the Department of Health with special responsibility for Older People and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage with special responsibility for Housing | Kieran O’Donnell | Cardiff and Manchester |
| Minister of State at the Department of Health with special responsibility for Public Health, Well Being and the National Drugs Strategy | Jennifer Murnane O’Connor | Greece and Cyprus |
| Minister of State at the Department of Justice with special responsibility for International Law, Law Reform and Youth Justice | Niall Collins | Mexico |
| Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment with special responsibility for Trade Promotion, Artificial Intelligence and Digital Transformation | Niamh Smyth | Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania |
| Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine with special responsibility for Fisheries and at the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications with special responsibility for the Marine | Timmy Dooley | Canada |
| Minister of State at the Department of Justice with special responsibility for Migration | Colm Brophy | Spain |
| Minister of State at the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science with special responsibility for Further Education, Apprenticeship, Construction and Climate Skills | Marian Harkin | Netherlands and Belgium |
| Ceann Comhairle | Verona Murphy | Switzerland |
| Cathaoirleach Seanad | TBC | Edinburgh |