The idea of the project called “Polska Éire Festival” was proposed in the autumn of 2014 by the Minister of State, Mr. Aodhán Ó Ríordáin and subsequently the Festival was developed and managed between 2015 and 2017 by the Deputy Head of Mission in the Polish Embassy in Dublin, Mr. Piotr Rakowski.
Each edition so far was supported by Minister of State for Justice at the Department of Justice and Equality with special responsibility for Equality, Immigration, and Integration David Stanton and his staff.
The first edition of the Festival took place between March -29 in 2015 and resulted in more than 100 events all around the country. The second edition took place between May 16-22 in 2016 with over 27.000 people participating in 100 plus events all over Ireland.
The fourth edition was organized between May 25th and June 10th with approx. 25.000 participants in more than 150 events all over Ireland and some in Poland, in Ruda Śląska.
We are currently in its 5th edition which will run on June 1st to 10th with accompanying events starting as early as May 5th! The PolskaÉire Festival 2019 is organised by approximately 50 partners, institutions and organisations and number of dedicated people – both Irish and Polish – that are helping to organize all the events. Over 150 PolskaÉire events will take place in Ireland and Poland in the Silesian town of Ruda Śląska.
Polska Éire Festival is an annual nationwide celebration of Irish-Polish friendship.
The aim of the festival is to further strengthen mutual relations between Polish and Irish communities by means of various cultural, sports, business, academic and community events.
It is co-organised annually by different national and local partners, both individuals and organisations, in Ireland and Poland.
• To promote and strengthen Polish-Irish bilateral relations, both at national and community level;
• To celebrate cultural diversity as well as similarities between the two nations;
• To further strengthen integration between Irish and Polish communities;
• To address important issues faced by Polish people in Ireland, such as multilingualism, identity, economic issues etc.;
• To celebrate diversity that Polish people bring to Ireland.
Every edition of the Festival is organized by the Polish and Irish organizations, associations and individuals, under the supervision of devoted Polish and Irish members of the Polska Éire Steering Committee.