Embassy of Ireland Sofia

10/08/2026

To mark the Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the Central Bank of Ireland has launched a new €2 commemorative coin!

500,000 of these specifically designed coins entered circularation in early July. People all over Europe will now find this coin in their pockets! This is particularly significant for us in Bulgaria, who entered the Eurozone this year. We thus have the great honour of showing off Ireland's commemorative Presidency coin in the Eurozone's newest member! 🇪🇺💶

The coin features Ireland's official Presidency logo, which draws inspiration both from scientific discovery and Ireland's artistic heritage. It represents the spiral structure of the nebula - first identified in Ireland using the Great Telescope at Birr Castle 🇮🇪

29/07/2026

Pencho Slaveykov Regional Library in Varna received a generous donation from the Embassy of Ireland in Sofia. Among the dozens of titles, there are authors like Colm Tóibín, Sally Rooney, Edna O’Brien, John Banville, and Paul Lynch. In addition to books translated into Bulgarian, the donation also includes a number of books in English, including children’s and young adult literature.
We are grateful to Ambassador Catherine Bannon and her team for their active cooperation in fostering cultural exchange between Ireland and Bulgaria! The books are currently being processed and will soon be available to our readers.

27/07/2026

Today, Regional Library - Ruse received a valuable and useful donation from the Embassy of Ireland in the Republic of Bulgaria—a total of 56 copies of 28 works by Irish authors in Bulgarian and English. The following titles will soon be available o our readers: The Blue Guitar, The Lock-Up, and The Secret Guests by John Banville; Night Boat to Tangier by Kevin Barry; A Thousand Moons by Sebastian Barry; Actress by Ann Enright; Beyond the Sea and Prophet Song by Paul Lynch; A Ghost in the Throat by Doireann Ní Ghríofa; Graham Norton’s Holding; Flann O’Brien’s At Swim-Two-Birds; Maggie O’Farrell’s The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, Instructions for a Heat Wave, The Hand That First Held Mine, and Hamnet; Intermezzo, Normal People, and Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney; The Magician and Mothers and Sons by Colm Tóibín. New additions to the foreign-language reading room include: The Book of Evidence and The Sea by John Banville; The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry; Foster by Claire Keegan; Girl by Edna O’Brien; Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe; Selected Poetry by Jonathan Swift; The Complete Fairy Tales by Oscar Wilde; and Collected Poems by W.B. Yeats.
We are extremely grateful to the Irish Embassy for this donation and hope that this fall, the Ambassador of Ireland, H.E. Catherine Bannon, will visit Ruse and open a literary exhibition dedicated to James Joyce at the library.

24/07/2026

20/07/2026

As some of you may remember, last month the Embassy of Ireland in Bulgaria unveiled its very own bus stop in Sofia!

Our bus stop celebrates both Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the EU and Ireland’s county pairing initiative – which sees Bulgaria paired with County Tipperary during the Presidency. In a reference to this pairing, our bus stop features Tipperary’s iconic Rock of Cashel.

The Rock of Cashel’s depiction is also a subtle nod to the important role that Ireland’s Saints and Scholars made to the understanding of a shared European identity during the Middle Ages – an early vision of Europe united by common values and cultural bonds. As Ireland holds the Presidency of the Council of the EU, we felt is an opportune moment to remember Ireland’s over millennium-old contributions to shaping the European agenda.

Thank you to Petya Ilieva and her Art4Diplomacy initiative for facilitating this. Art4Diplomacy is a Bulgarian cultural diplomacy programme that aims to introduce people to the art, culture, and cultural & historical heritage of different countries and peoples around the world.

Както някои от вас може би си спомнят, миналия месец Посолството на Ирландия в България откри своя собствена автобусна спирка в София!

Нашата автобусна спирка отбелязва както ирландското председателство на Съвета на ЕС, така и ирландската инициатива за партньорство между графства, в рамките на която България е партньор на графство Типерари по време на председателството. В знак на това партньорство на нашата автобусна спирка е изобразена емблематичната за Типерари Скала на Кашел.

Изображението на Скалата на Кашел е и деликатна препратка към важната роля, която ирландските светци и учени са изиграли за разбирането на общата европейска идентичност през Средновековието – една ранна представа за Европа, обединена от общи ценности и културни връзки. Сега след като Ирландия пое председателството на Съвета на ЕС, сметнахме, че е подходящо да припомним хилядолетния й принос към оформянето на европейската програма.

Благодарим на Петя Илиева и нейната инициатива Art4Diplomacy за съдействието при осъществяването на този проект.

17/07/2026

See translation here 👇👇

✨️ Hristo Smirnenski Regional Library in Pleven received a valuable book donation from the Embassy of Ireland in Bulgaria – 50 volumes of works by Irish authors.

📚 The collection includes 25 titles, each in two copies – some in Bulgarian and others in English, which broadens the opportunities to explore Irish literature’s rich heritage.

🤝 The donation is a wonderful gesture of friendship and cultural exchange that creates new opportunities for readers to get to know more about Ireland through its books and authors.

💚 We would like to thank H.E. Catherine Bannon, Ambassador of Ireland to Bulgaria, for the generous gift which enriches our library’s collection and promotes love of reading, knowledge, and intercultural dialogue.

14/07/2026

Yesterday, on Monday July 13, Ambassador Bannon went live on BNT!

It was a great privilege for the Ambassador to be invited to appear on Bulgarian National Television’s Foreign Affairs programme, "Светът и ние" (‘The World and We’), where she outlined what is expected of Ireland during the Presidency and highlighted the ambitious policy programme Ireland has outlined for itself in the next six months.

These priorities revolve around three key themes: Values, Security and Competitiveness 👊🇪🇺🔥

You can catch the interview here: https://bntnews.bg/news/ukraina-ostava-prioritet-za-irlandskoto-predsedatelstvo-na-es-po-silni-sme-kogato-sme-obedineni-1403066news.html

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В понеделник, 13 юли, посланик Банън участва в предаване на живо по БНТ!

За посланик Банън беше голяма чест да бъде поканена в предаването за външна политика на Българската национална телевизия „Светът и ние“, където тя очерта какво се очаква от Ирландия по време на председателството и изтъкна амбициозната политическа програма, която Ирландия си е набелязала за следващите шест месеца.

Приоритетите се фокусират в три ключови теми: ценности, сигурност и конкурентоспособност 👊🇪🇺🔥

Можете да гледате интервюто тук: https://bntnews.bg/news/ukraina-ostava-prioritet-za-irlandskoto-predsedatelstvo-na-es-po-silni-sme-kogato-sme-obedineni-1403066news.html

10/07/2026

For Part 2 of Euro-Thursday, I was invited to present Ireland’s Presidency Priorities to the Foreign Affairs and European Affairs Committee of the Bulgarian National Parliament.

The questioning was tough - covering issues like energy costs, the balance between competitiveness and environmental objectives, the digitisation agenda and the Middle East - but with Ryan’s support and a lot of preparation, we were able to address all aspects.

Deputy Minister Tasheva also presented on Bulgaria’s priorities during Ireland’s presidency.

Appearing in front of such informed and engaged politicians was daunting, but Ireland’s priorities are clear and resonate strongly in Bulgaria. 🇧🇬

Competitiveness
Values
Security

Thank you for the honour of addressing you, for the warm welcome and for the thoughtful questions.

And with that, Euro-Thursday was brought to a close.



За втората част на Евро-четвъртък бях поканен да представя приоритетите на ирландското председателство пред Комисията по външни работи и европейски въпроси на българския народен парламент.

Въпросите бяха трудни - обхващаха теми като разходите за енергия, баланса между конкурентоспособността и екологичните цели, програмата за цифровизация и Близкия изток - но с подкрепата на Райън и много подготовка успяхме да разгледаме всички аспекти.

Заместник-министър Ташева също представи приоритетите на България по време на ирландското председателство.

Да се ​​изправя пред толкова информирани и ангажирани политици беше обезсърчително, но приоритетите на Ирландия са ясни и резонират силно в България. 🇧🇬

Конкурентоспособност
Ценности
Сигурност

Благодаря Ви за честта да се обърна към Вас, за топлото посрещане и задълбочените въпроси.

И с това Евро-четвъртък приключи.

10/07/2026

Yesterday was what we’re calling Euro-Thursday 🇪🇺. We kicked off with the official PanEuropa launch event at which Ambassasor Bannon presented Ireland’s priorities for the Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Council.

We were incredibly honoured to have the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Velislava Petrova, in attendance to speak about Bulgaria’s position on EU issues. It was a great discussion thanks to the skilfull moderation of Gergana Passy.

Many thanks to the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, the European Commission and the Diplomatic Institute for hosting.

And special thanks, as always to the amazing talents of Celtaura and Rosen, who stole the show!

The Euro vibes were strong and energising, which was important for what followed next…(stay tuned to to hear about what the afternoon of Euro Thursday had in store)

01/07/2026

It’s 5:35am on 1 July. Mariya and I are in Veliko Tarnovo and in true Bulgarian style, Mariya insisted we watch the sunrise (it’s common in Bulgaria to watch the sun rise on the first day of July).

It’s kind of cool also to watch the sun come up on the first morning of Ireland’s Presidency from one of the most eastern parts of the EU.