Remarks by Tánaiste Micheál Martin at St Patrick’s Society Reception, Montreal

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Good afternoon, distinguished guests, ladies, and gentlemen, it is great to see such a great turnout at this St Patrick’s Day Lunch.

I would like to extend my thanks to the St Patrick’s Society of Montreal and their President Pamela McGovern for arranging this wonderful event. I have been told you work extremely hard every year to make sure St Patrick’s Day is celebrated in this great city.

The impact the Irish have had on Montreal over the last two centuries is truly remarkable and it is safe to say that today the Ireland-Montreal connection runs deep.

This St Patrick’s week it is particularly special to take stock of the incredible friendship between Ireland and Canada as we mark 85 years of diplomatic relations.

And speaking of that friendship, I would like to acknowledge MP James Maloney who is here today. James is a great friend to Ireland and we are forever grateful for his Trojan efforts that have seen March now celebrated as Irish Heritage Month here in Canada.

We are enjoying an unprecedented level of bilateral trade and investment between Canada and Ireland in recent years with Ireland’s exports of goods to Canada having grown almost four-fold from 1.1 billion euro in 2017 to 4.1 billion euro in 2023.

As we continue to expand our presence here in Canada, and in Quebec, yesterday evening, I was delighted to announce Ireland’s new Honorary Consul for Quebec, Mr Bryan O’Gallagher.

I know that Ireland’s presence here in Quebec will be immeasurably strengthened by Bryan’s appointment and that he will work intensively to promote Ireland-Quebec business connections.

We are delighted that Bryan has joined our team of five Honorary Consuls across Canada.

It is also timely to acknowledge the work of our previous Honorary Consul in Quebec, Dr Michael Kenneally.

Dr Kenneally did an exemplary job for the Irish diaspora in Quebec, and I would like to formally thank him for strengthening the Ireland-Quebec relationship with energy and professionalism over nearly two decades.

We now have five Honorary Consuls and one Vice Honorary Consul across Canada including a new Honorary Consul in Edmonton, Colm O’Carroll.

Last night I was also delighted to highlight the government’s $200,000 contribution to the Montreal Irish Monument Park.

This will go towards creating a world-class park and museum to commemorate the largest Irish famine gravesite outside of Ireland.

Once completed, this site will be a centre of cultural heritage for the Irish diaspora in Quebec and internationally. We very much look forward to the Park coming to fruition.

With this in mind, I would like to take this opportunity to raise a toast, to the deep bonds between Ireland and Canada and to wish you all a very happy St Patrick’s Day – Lá fhéile Pádraig sona dhaoibh.