Irish Embassy to celebrate St. Patrick day in Ha Noi

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The World and Vietnam Report is delighted to introduce an OpEd written by Mr. Andrew Doyle, Ireland’s Minister of State for Food, Forestry and Horticulture on the occasion of this festival. Following is the full article:

Mr Andrew Doyle, Ireland's Minister of State for Food, Forestry and Horticulture (right) with Mr Hoang Van Thang, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. (Photo: Ireland Embassy in Ha Noi)

"I am delighted to be in Vietnam for Ireland’s National Day, St. Patrick’s Day, to build further ties between our two countries and to celebrate our ‘people to people’ links.

St. Patrick’s Day has become an important festival in Việt Nam, with events organised by the Irish Embassy and the Irish communities in Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City.  

Ireland’s Global Greening initiative is now a firm feature of St. Patrick’s Day around the world. Last year Ha Noi became the first city in South East Asia to join the global greening. This year over 300 iconic landmarks in 32 countries will light up in green to celebrate Ireland’s national holiday. Here in Ha Noi, we are delighted to have the support of the Ha Noi People’s Committee and the Centre for Social Development Studies to have a ‘greening’ event at the Pen Monument at Hoan Kiem Lake on, Saturday, 17 March. We hope that our Vietnamese friends will enjoy this free family friendly public event with fantastic Irish traditional music and dance all the way from Dublin.

Ireland and Vietnam have much in common, not least the youth and dynamism of our populations. Both of our cultures have their roots in ancient civilisations renowned for the value they have placed on scholarly learning and education. The greening of the Pen Monument for St. Patrick’s Day, reflects not just the friendship between our two peoples, but also the shared importance Vietnamese and Irish people place on education.

Ireland’s reputation for high quality education is built upon a commitment to excellence. Our people are renowned for innovation, creativity and collaboration. I am delighted to see a growing interest from young Vietnamese in studying in Ireland. They can be assured of a warm welcome to a safe, English speaking, EU member state.  

Saint Patrick's Day celebration. (Photo: Ireland Embassy in Ha Noi)

Ireland truly is the land of welcomes. Last year we welcomed over 9 million visitors to our beautiful island.  Our visitors have an opportunity to connect with friendly, welcoming people in towns and villages, to experience Ireland’s heritage and culture and enjoy our great, locally-grown, fresh food and freshly caught seafood.

As Minister with responsibility for Food, I am having discussions this week with the Government of Vietnam and with business in the agri-food sector. We have made great progress in our partnership since my last visit in 2016. Through our programme of co-operation, Ireland is partnering with Vietnam to exchange knowledge and expertise in critical areas like agricultural research and food safety systems, and the development of University curricula in food science and business, and food safety management.  

I am delighted to see that we have a growing and vibrant Irish community in Vietnam. I am proud of the positive contribution that our community is making here. This Saturday I will attend a Sports Day organised by the Viet Celts Gaelic Football Club. The Viet Celts, made up of Irish and Vietnamese and international friends of Ireland, is doing phenomenal work with the Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation, to give marginalised young people a chance to play sport and through it to develop critical life skills. I will also pay a visit to the Military Hospital and meet volunteers from Operation Walk Ireland, a self-funded Irish charity, which has been working hard this week, in partnership with the Military Hospital, to provide life changing surgery for people in need.

These human connections between our two countries signify the great warmth between us. So on this special week, when Vietnam joins Ireland and the world in turning green, I want to wish all of the friends of Ireland in Vietnam a very happy St. Patrick’s Day, or as we say in the Irish language, Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig." 

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