Department spent over €1m on St Patrick's Day events at Irish embassies and consulates
(Left to right) The Taoiseach's wife Mary O'Shea, US President Donald Trump and Taoiseach Micheál Martin at the St Patrick's Day reception in the White House in March. In total, seven senior ministers travelled to the US last March, with the Taoiseach having visited Texas and Washington DC, while the Tánaiste travelled to Philadelphia and New York. File photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP
More than €1m was spent on hosting St Patrick's Day-related events at Irish embassies and consulates around the world, new figures from the Department of Foreign Affairs have shown.
The data provided to the through Freedom of Information shows how a total of €1,096,493 was spent on hosting 569 St Patrick's Day events across the world.
The biggest spend came for an event at Ireland’s Permanent Mission to the UN in New York City, costing a total of €59,800. This spend was for a single event, according to the department.
In comparison, at Ireland’s consulate general in New York City, 13 events were held costing a total of €3,737.
The average cost per event was €1,927. In Washington DC, a total of €15,500 was spent across 13 separate events.
There were a number of embassies and consulates which saw spends of more than €20,000, including in Tokyo, Buenos Aires, Hong Kong, Praetoria, Dar Es Salaam and San Francisco.
At the San Francisco consulate, a total of 12 events were held, at a total cost of €23,000. Meanwhile, in Buenos Aires in Argentina, four events were held at a total cost of €21,235.
In Tokyo, six events were held with a final cost of €21,633. The largest number of events - 32 - were hosted by the Irish embassy in London, costing €16,052.
A spokesperson for the department said the events were a unique opportunity to showcase Ireland on the international stage, while also promoting the State’s trade and economic interests abroad. They said the events were also used to “engage with senior political interlocutors around the world”.
“The ‘Promoting Ireland’ programme over St Patrick’s Day 2025 saw 37 representatives of the State carrying out 69 programmes in 113 cities globally, at events organised by the Mission network.
“All embassies and consulates endeavour to minimise the costs of hosting events and ensure value for money and adherence to the relevant financial procedures.”
The spend comes amid the Government’s major diplomatic push over the St Patrick’s Day week, with senior ministers flocking to the US in a bid to ensure good relations with the Trump administration.
In total, seven senior ministers travelled to the US last March, with the Taoiseach having visited Texas and Washington DC, while the Tánaiste travelled to Philadelphia and New York.
In recent years, the Government has sought to expand its reach abroad through its Global Ireland Strategy and the creation of new diplomatic missions across the globe. In total, since the strategy was introduced in 2018, 22 new diplomatic missions have been launched.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has also been developing the concept of Ireland Houses, where embassies are housed alongside key state development agencies like the IDA, Enterprise Ireland and Bord Bia.
The most recent example of an Ireland House is in Tokyo, which was formally opened by Taoiseach Micheál Martin in July of this year. The project itself cost €27.4m, making it the most expensive project ever undertaken by the Government outside the State.
