WELCOME!

Welcome to the website of the Embassy of Ireland in Copenhagen. We hope that you find it useful and informative. In addition to providing information on the services provided by the Embassy, it is a source of information on Ireland and Denmark and on the links between the two countries. 

THE GATHERING

I wish to inform you about a significant project which is underway in Ireland called “The Gathering Ireland 2013”.  The Gathering is a year-long celebration of everything great & unique about Ireland.   It is an opportunity to join a countrywide, citizen-led initiative to invite our Diasporas from around the world to join and support Ireland in 2013. 

The Gathering 2013 is set to be the biggest tourism event ever held in Ireland. It’s a year- long celebration of everything great and unique about Ireland. It’s an opportunity to join a countrywide, citizen-led initiative to reach out to Ireland’s global diaspora and their connections and to bring them to Ireland in 2013.

The aim of the Gathering is to attract up to 325,000 extra visitors to Ireland in 2013. This significant increase in visitor numbers would generate at least €170 million in additional revenue to the Irish economy in 2013.

The Gathering will be organised around a series of festivals, both existing and new.  It will be our major tourism focus next year.

It’s inviting our Diaspora from around the world to join and support Ireland in 2013 as well as anyone that has or feels a connection to Ireland through, for example through business, education or a love of Irish culture or music. 2013 is the year to come home.

For Irish people abroad, The Gathering is a unique opportunity to reconnect with their heritage. It is a chance to help lay the foundations for a better future for Ireland. There will never be a better year to re-connect or indeed experience for the first time all that is great about our wonderful country.

We need everybody to tell family, friends and connections whether through business, associations, clubs or socially that now is the time to plan for 2013, the year to visit Ireland or come home.  We need the diaspora to leverage networks to help spread the word of The Gathering Ireland and get people talking about it!  Spread the word as much as possible, be part of it and embrace this wonderful year.

Thousands of Irish citizens are supporting the initiative and organising exciting local festivals and gatherings to welcome people from all over the world to their communities, villages and towns. The Gathering will be officially launched in Ireland on 16 April when a number of flagship events taking place throughout 2013 will be unveiled.

The website www.thegatheringireland.com is now live with information for people wishing to travel to Ireland in 2013 or plan events and will be updated regularly with supports and events over the coming months.

From Denmark, we have excellent access to Ireland with both SAS and Norwegian airlines.

Any particular queries can be addressed to Tourism Ireland, Copenhagen -  Rikke Aagaard Petersen (RPetersen@tourismireland.com), Maarit Kärkkäinen (MKarkkainen@tourismireland.com) or to this Embassy.

Yours faithfully

Brendan Scannell, Ambassador of Ireland to Denmark and Iceland