ieExplains: Who's going where? St Patrick's Day trips for ministers revealed
For St Patrick's Day 2025, 38 representatives of the State will travel to more than 90 cities in 40 countries.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin will visit Washington DC and Texas for St Patrick's Day, it has been confirmed.
The trip has been the centre of some controversy as it is expected he will meet with US president Donald Trump with opposition TDs calling for the Taoiseach to boycott the tradition.
This year, 38 representatives of the State will travel to more than 90 cities in 40 countries.
Tánaiste Simon Harris will also be in the US, heading to Philadelphia and New York, with seven other members of the government also America-bound.
The unprecedented diplomatic blitz is aimed at securing the Irish relationship with the US in the first year of the new Trump administration.
Ministers travelling to America will be expected to emphasise the mutually beneficial relationship between Ireland and the US, which is valued at over €1tn per year.
Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill's visit to New York will also take in the UN Commission on the Status of Women.
The other members of Government heading to the US are: Darragh O’Brien, Peter Burke, Dara Calleary, Patrick O’Donovan, Minister of State Alan Dillon and Attorney General Rossa Fanning SC
The full list of ministers going abroad is:
Where are the ministers going?
Ministers
Ministers of State
Alan Dillon: Utah, Vancouver and Canada
Mary Butler: Denmark and Sweden
Hildegarde Naughton: Japan
Noel Grealish: Vietnam and Cambodia
Sean Canney: Brazil
Thomas Byrne: France
Charlie McConalogue: Colombia
Kevin 'Boxer' Moran: Portugal
Emer Higgins: Western Australia
Robert Troy: Czechia
Neale Richmond: Kenya and Tanzania
Jerry Buttimer: New Zealand
John Cummins: Thailand and the Philippines
Christopher O’Sullivan: Norway& Poland
Kieran O’Donnell: Cardiff and Manchester
Jennifer Murnane O’Connor: Greece and Cyprus
Niall Collins: Mexico
Niamh Smyth: Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania
Timmy Dooley: Canada
Colm Brophy: Spain
Marian Harkin: Netherlands and Belbium
Other
Verona Murphy (Ceann Comhairle): Switzerland
Rossa Fanning (Attorney General): Michigan and Montana
Mark Daly (Seanad Cathaoirleach): Edinburgh
Ministers will promote Irish investment overseas, international research and education collaborations, mutually beneficial partnerships between Irish and overseas companies and the successes and growth of overseas companies that have chosen Ireland as their base in Europe.
Three ministers will stay in Ireland — they are Agriculture Minister Martin Heydon and junior ministers Michael Healy Rea and Michael Moynihan.
Opposition parties have been calling on the Government not to visit the US this year due to Mr Trump's recent comments on Gaza.
The US President has been accused of destabilising the volatile situation in the Middle East and potentially shattering the current ceasefire.
Mr Trump has spoken of his plans to "take over" Gaza and expel Palestinians as well saying that if all Israeli hostages are not returned by midday on Saturday "let all hell break loose".
Speaking in the Dáil following the announcement of the ministerial trips, People Before Profit-Solidarity TD Ruth Coppinger said: "Ireland does not have a lot of power globally but we do have the power not to give President Trump a photo op on an important day for Ireland globally and not to normalise what he is doing."
Ms Coppinger said Mr Trump has demonstrated his desire to take away the right of Palestinians to their homeland for a real estate deal for himself and those he represents.
This deal would "trod over the broken bones of the children and people of Gaza".
The Taoiseach reiterated the importance of working on Ireland's relationships with the US in terms of the economy and our diaspora.
