Speech by President Connolly at Global Irish Civic Forum
Croke Park, 30 April 2026
A chairde, I am delighted to be here with you all this morning at the Global Irish Civic Forum. The fourth event of its kind, today’s Forum sees the attendance of 246 guests representing 21 countries. I want to take the opportunity to extend a warm welcome home to each and every one of you. Today provides an opportunity to meet, share ideas and plan for the future. I look forward to meeting and engaging with you later this afternoon.
I would like to welcome Minister of State Neale Richmond and thank him for his very warm welcome, and to thank the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for organising this event and indeed to acknowledge the work of the Department and its Irish Abroad Unit, which is focused on supporting the Irish diaspora.
Is imeacht fíor-thábhachtach é seo a thugann deis, chuile dhá nó trí de bhlianta, do eagraíochtaí agus daoine aonair teacht le chéile mar ionadaithe ar son phobail Éireannacha as chuile chearn den domhan. Cuireann sé spás ar fáil chun scagadh agus plé a dhéanamh ar na dúshláin agus deacrachtaí ar leith a bhaineann le saol ár muintire atá ag cur fúthu thar lear ar chúiseanna éagsúla.
Séard atá ag croílár an Fhóraim Chathartha ná cinntiú nach ligfear ár nDiaspóra i ndearmad agus go ndéanfar an nasc idir a dtír dhúchais agus a mbaile nua a chothú agus a neartú.
I welcome, too, the launch of Ireland’s Diaspora Strategy 2026-2030 which I have read quickly and look forward to reading in detail. The Strategy sets out 23 commitments and commits to deepening our ties with the diaspora. In this regard, the pledge to continue the Emigrant Support Programme which, at €17.5 million is the highest allocation to-date, and the commitment to enhance the capacity of our Embassies and Consulates to engage with the diaspora, are particularly welcome.
As the third Strategy of its kind, I am encouraged by the progress made since the first Strategy was published in 2015, in recognising the value and importance of the diaspora.
There are of course many different ways to measure emigration, but it is accepted that somewhere between 50 and 80 million people around the world claim Irish ancestry following centuries of emigration. One statistic in relation to America, which captured my attention, was that in 1910, there were 4.5 million either Irish-born or with an Irish parent, a number greater than the population of Ireland at the time.
Another is the year that the London Ireland Centre was founded, in 1955, as a house of welcome for Irish emigrants to England. In that year, approx. 50,000 people left our shores, in the middle of a decade that overall saw half a million people leaving Ireland.
In this context, it is very welcome that this Forum is shining a light on the Irish diaspora. Indeed, we see a range of countries represented today from North and South America, Africa, Australia and Europe.
Our location today in Croke Park is deeply significant. The GAA has played an indelible role in emigrants’ lives abroad, not only in a sports context, but also in terms of the support which they give to newly arrived emigrants around the world as well as in times of distress or need. In doing so, the GAA and all organisations represented today are giving effect to the pledge set out in Article 2 of the Constitution to cherish the special affinity with people of Irish ancestry living abroad who share our cultural identity and heritage.
And today I want to recognise the important role that our diaspora has played, and continues to play, in shaping Ireland’s identity. Earlier this month, I travelled to Spain and had the opportunity to meet some of the Irish community there spanning the generations. It was a joyful experience.
And next month, I will undertake my first official visit as President to England. I am looking forward to meeting many of our communities in London and Leeds who are making a real difference and have contributed so much to life there in areas as diverse as community care, political and civic leadership, business, culture, sports and education.
This chapter of our emigration story has been brought to life by recent research by the London School of Economics and UCD which is now the subject of an exhibition in EPIC, Ireland’s emigration museum. Using economic history and data, it examines the changing circumstances of Irish emigrants to England over the past 200 years.
The exhibition shows the enormous contribution by Irish women and men to English society through their hard work, their vibrant culture and their political activism. It also sets out the obstacles to be overcome captured so succinctly by the title “No Irish Need Apply”. The exhibition recognises the crucial role of remittances in providing a lifeline for household survival, supporting the families of those left behind and funding further ‘chain migration’. In the period 1940-1970, Irish emigrants in the UK sent an estimated £4.8 billion back to Ireland, a significant proportion of Ireland’s national income then.
Moreover, at a time when it was not valued at home, the Irish community in England played a very important role in keeping Irish music and culture alive.
Of course, the stipulation that “No Irish need apply” was also prevalent in other countries, and particularly in America. The experience of Irish emigration to North America has been brought to the fore in a most poignant way through the letters home from Irish emigrants between the late 17th and mid-20th centuries, as detailed in the Kerby A. Miller Collection.
Bestowed very generously by the Professor on NUIG, this archive of approximately 7,000 letters speaks of resilience and endurance in the face of often considerable adversity.
There is no doubt that emigration has shaped us as a people and shaped how we see the world. We are a post-colonial country that lived through a catastrophic famine and a civil war. We are a country that knows the importance of reconciliation and the meticulous and methodical negotiations that go into a lasting peace, with the invaluable assistance of members of our diaspora.
We are a republic that has chosen the path of neutrality. We are a nation whose families have known, in every generation, what it is to leave, and unfortunately continue to leave. Many of whom see no alternative.
This is our shared inheritance and that history carries weight. It gives us not only the right but the duty to call out injustice wherever in the world it occurs, to name aggression, and to name dispossession.
A chairde, I look forward to many opportunities in the coming years for me as President to celebrate with our growing Irish family abroad and to share our diverse experiences. I thank all of you for the roles you play in deepening the links with our Irish family around the world, and I wish you well in your endeavours.
I couldn't leave the stage without saying I'm very conscious of the arrests being made on the flotilla. I'll leave my comments at that - the arrests that have been made of Irish citizens among a number of other citizens, and I say that in the context of a speech where most of our people left on ships in very bad conditions and now we're in a situation where a flotilla of solidarity is in difficulty.
Tá mise ag tnúth go mór le deiseanna a thapú sna blianta amach romham, mar Uachtarán, casadh lenár muintir Éireannach thar lear atá ag dul i méid bliain i ndiaidh bliana.
Go raibh maith agaibh.
