Irish Embassy Celebrates St Patrick's Day at Cercle Cité

On the occasion of St Patrick's Day, Tuesday 17 March 2026, Ireland's Ambassador to Luxembourg, Jean McDonald, hosted a lunchtime reception at the Cercle Cité in Luxembourg-Ville.

Approximately 300 invited guests were warmly welcomed by Ambassador McDonald and Deputy Head of Mission, Caoimhe McCarthy, to celebrate Ireland's National Day, in the impressive surroundings of Cercle Cité.

Musicians from Comhaltas Luxembourg entertained guests on arrival in the foyer as Ambassador McDonald greeted guests, who included: Anne Calteux, Head of Representation of the European Commission in Luxembourg; Joanne Olivier, British Ambassador to Luxembourg; Hua Ning, Chinese Ambassador to Luxembourg; Stacey Feinberg, US Ambassador to Luxembourg; Chun Young-Hee, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea in Luxembourg; Maurice Bauer, Deputy Mayor of Luxembourg City; Carole Hartmann, Mayor of Echternach; Norah Ryan, President of County Carlow Chamber of Commerce, Seamus Doran, from the Carlow Local Enterprise Office, and various members from Luxembourg's Irish community and beyond.

Finger food was provided by the Home from Home "expat shop" and soft drinks, Guinness and champagne were freely available to guests and served by students from Ireland's Shannon College of Hotel Management, currently on secondment in various hotels in Luxembourg City.

Both the Luxembourg and Irish National Anthems were played before Ambassador McDonald addressed the audience.

During her speech, Ambassador McDonald welcomed the guests and reflected on the work undertaken by the Irish Embassy over the past year, which included an official visit from Taoiseach Micheál Martin in July 2025, the launch of the Irish Young Professionals Network, and accompanying Luxembourg Prime Minister Luc Frieden and Minister of Finance Gilles Roth on their recent visit to Ireland to meet with the Taoiseach, a visit she said underscored the many shared interests that Ireland and Luxembourg have as European Union members.

Ambassador McDonald also remarked on how Ireland’s relationship with Luxembourg continues to strengthen and highlighted Ireland’s upcoming Presidency of the EU, which runs from July to December 2026.

“On the 1st of July, when Ireland takes on the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union for the eighth time in our history, we will have another opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to a high level of ambition for Ireland's place in the world. Ireland will take on the mantle of the presidency in 2026 at a juncture when global challenges have rarely looked so formidable. As work intensifies in Dublin and Brussels for our presidency, it is heartening to know that we have so much in common cause with Luxembourg, particularly in relation to the vitally important competitiveness agenda,” said Ambassador McDonald.

She added: “To our Luxembourg friends, I would like to warmly thank you for your unfailing openness and engagement. Ireland remains very grateful for this bilateral relationship that is rooted in our common EU membership and our shared values, including a strong and unequivocal defence of human rights, fundamental freedoms and the UN Charter. So, as we reflect on St Patrick's Day and the theme of Ireland's place in the world, those shared values are the bedrock that will provide ballast in these difficult times.”

Following the speech, guests were invited to enjoy the music, food and refreshments.

Speaking to Chronicle.lu, President of County Carlow Chamber of Commerce, Seamus Doran, emphasised the importance of the relationship between Luxembourg and County Carlow, which historically stems from Luxembourg's patron saint, St Willibrord, being trained and ordained in Carlow between 678AD to 690AD, but which now extends into other cultural and economic links including County Carlow being paired with Luxembourg as part of an initiative where each of Ireland’s 26 counties are matched with an EU Member State ahead of Ireland’s upcoming Presidential term of the EU.

Seamus Doran said: “It has grown from strength to strength. The fact that Carlow and Luxembourg have been now officially partnered as part of the EU Presidency is really a sign of that. We have been very fortunate to be able to engage with the Irish Embassy here, with the Embassy of Luxembourg in Dublin and a lot of the other cultural and economic stakeholders that we have met over the years to try and strengthen those ties. We think in the short term what it is going to mean is a very engaging and exciting programme of events that we are going to host in Carlow this November, as part of the overall celebrations of Ireland's EU Presidency.”

He added: “We hope as a result of our engagement here over the St Patrick's Day Festival, that we can encourage other stakeholders from Luxembourg to come and visit us in Carlow to experience in the short term the rich, giant history that we have, and in the longer term to build and strengthen on those relationships to the benefit of both communities.”

Other St Patrick’s Day celebrations in the Grand Duchy included a Gala Dinner hosted by the Irish Club of Luxembourg at Hotel Le Royal in Luxembourg City on Tuesday evening. The event, which saw around 50 guests in attendance, began with a cocktail reception, followed by a three-course meal and a tombola draw. Musical entertainment was provided by Alizeti and Irish Dancing by Comhaltas Luxembourg. 

On Saturday 14 March, Comhaltas Luxembourg hosted two Céilí events – an afternoon céilí for children and families and an evening céilí for adults - at the Centre Culturel Cessange, which saw approximately 300 people in attendance.