Warm welcome to the website of the Embassy of Ireland in South Africa. Céad mile fáilte!
The site has regular updates including on consular, visa, business, cultural and community services and activities. It aims to provide clear guidance and information and help you gain an understanding of Ireland in South Africa. As Ambassador-designate, I look forward to further deepening the very warm and deep bilateral ties between Ireland and South Africa in the years ahead.
The connections between our two countries date back many centuries when Irish people, including missionaries, migrated to this region. Central to the relationship is a sense of shared values and support for the struggle for democracy, freedom, human rights and social justice. During the campaign against apartheid, Ireland played a pivotal role in building international support for sanctions against the then South African regime. Many South Africans took refuge in our country during the period; the most prominent among them was Professor Kader Asmal, who was instrumental in strengthening the Irish Anti-Apartheid Movement.
We continue to build on a commitment to human rights, multilateralism and universal values as enshrined in the United Nations (UN) Charter. This includes pursuing opportunities for international cooperation particularly at the UN where both Ireland and South Africa have served recently on the Security Council.
To this day, Ireland and South Africa enjoy enormous people-to-people connections. In normal times, more than 90,000 people move between both countries annually, reflecting extensive links including business, sporting and family ties. There is a large Irish diaspora living in South Africa which the Embassy serves through our consular section, cultural and business networking activities. I encourage you to register with the Embassy to keep abreast of activities and events.
A vibrant economic and trade relationship with South Africa is a cornerstone. The Embassy supports business networking through Business Ireland Southern Africa (BISA) and provides advice and support to Irish companies in the South African market. Enterprise Ireland also has an office in Johannesburg and has a wealth of knowledge to support client companies, while IDA and Bord Bia also have a presence here. My team and I are committed to fostering innovative new collaborations including between young South African and Irish technology entrepreneurs through the recently launched Irish Tech Challenge South Africa.
The Embassy partners with the Government of South Africa to grow and develop the skills of arguably its most important resource - the young women and men of this country. Through our Kader Asmal Fellowship Programme, we offer early career professionals from South Africa, as well as Zimbabwe, Lesotho, and Mauritius an opportunity to study at Masters level in Ireland. Our universities are actively engaged in research partnerships, such as the recently inaugurated Maxeke-Robinson Studies Chair hosted by the University of the Western Cape (UWC) in partnership with Trinity College Dublin (TCD). Technology has allowed these relationships to flourish. Both Ireland and South Africa boast rich cultures and heritage and I look forward to celebrating our strong connections though more exchanges between writers and artists in the years ahead.
The Embassy is accredited to the Republic of Zimbabwe, Mauritius, the Kingdom of Lesotho and the Republic of Botswana and the South Africa Development Community (SADC). I am committed to further strengthening bilateral relations between Ireland and each of these countries and SADC. This aim is strongly supported by Irish citizens who call these countries and South Africa “home”. Our work is greatly amplified by Irish associations and the tremendous contribution of Irish religious organisations and NGOs and I look forward to getting to know our partner organisations and collaborating closely in the months and years ahead. I eagerly anticipate as well travelling across this wonderful country and region and meeting people from all walks of life.
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