Consulate General of Ireland, Vancouver
1300-1095 West Pender Street V6E 2M6 Vancouver, BC, Canada

Most of us are feeling tired & worn-out at the end of a tough year Irish In Vancouver & BC, supported by us at the Consulate, have arranged a free online Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) series for the Irish community in BC to help you learn how to protect and manage your mental health this winter. Be kind to yourself and take some time to look after your well-being . The first session is next Tuesday, 1 December @ 7-9pm. Full details and registration can be found in the Irish in BC newsletter: https://mailchi.mp//see-whats-happening-in-the-irishinbc-c . #mentalhealthmatters

Our December Virtual Business Breakfast is happening on Thursday 3 December, 8-9am PST. We are delighted to welcome Suzanne Drisdelle, Chargée d’Affaires and Senior Trade Commissioner at the Embassy of Canada in Ireland as our special guest speaker. Details and registration below. See you there!

The Government of Ireland has today launched its new Diaspora Strategy 2020-2025. This strategy sets out how Ireland will support and engage with Irish Communities all around the world . For more information see below and here: https://www.dfa.ie/global-irish/

Former President of Ireland, Chancellor of Trinity College Dublin, Professor Mary McAleese delivered a captivating and inspiring lecture to mark the launch of the Ireland Canada University Foundation’s D’Arcy McGee Beacon Fellowship Program. Watch back here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InOtq4YwStA

Huge congratulations to the Irish Canadian Immigration Centre, voted Best Learning Center by readers of The Toronto Star! A very well-deserved award. Find out more about the work and services of I/CAN at their website www.irishcdn.org

The 2020 European Union Film Festival in Canada is now online! Ireland's EUFF entry, The Last Right, will be available to stream on November 26th and 27th. With its winning mixture of mirth and melancholy, not to mention cameo appearances by Colm Meaney and Brian Cox, The Last Right is one unforgettable Irish road trip. Information and tickets here: https://www.euffonline.ca/

In Ireland, Halloween is traditionally associated with fortune telling. From Barmbrack to mirrors learn more about these creepy customs in this video! #IrelandHomeofHalloween

Virtual Event Alert! The Ireland Canada Chamber of Commerce Vancouver invites you to join them on Thursday, November 26th from 7:30am to 8.30am PST for an insightful and interactive Q&A session with esteemed guest speakers: Eamonn McKee, Irish Ambassador to Canada... Deirdre Moran, IDA Ireland. Topics of discussion will range from trade development between Ireland and Canada, opportunities and challenges posed by a hard-Brexit, and Ireland's economic recovery from Covid-19. Everyone is welcome to register now for this free event and submit questions to the panel using the link below: Link to Register - https://icccvan.ca/events Also, ICCCVan are excited to be back with their new schedule of events and new Board for 2020/2021. Check out their website to meet the new board here: https://icccvan.ca/

Calling all Irish in Vancouver! Do you see yourself living in Vancouver long-term, or maybe forever? The City of Vancouver are looking for feedback from communities to feed into their Vancouver Plan. Join this Future City Workshop for the Irish Community and get involved in planning the future of our city Thursday 26 November 2020, 1-2pm PST ... This conversation is being hosted to feed into the City of Vancouver's Vancouver Plan consultation process: https://vancouverplan.ca/get-involved/ Email [email protected] for more details and to register!

The Government of Ireland has today launched its new Diaspora Strategy 2020-2025. This strategy sets out how Ireland will support and engage with Irish Communities all around the world . For more information see below and here: https://www.dfa.ie/global-irish/

It is important to keep a strong focus on our mental well-being and health at this time of year, especially given the recent increased restrictions here in British Columbia. Micheal O’Rourke, National Social Care Advisor at Irish Canadian Immigration Centre will talk about the mental health impacts of COVID-19, identify strategies to manage uncertainty during COVID-19 and look at what we have learned from the first wave that can help us prepare for any further COVID-19 measures in the months ahead. Register below for this webinar taking place on Saturday 14 November at 10am PST.

Former President of Ireland, Chancellor of Trinity College Dublin, Professor Mary McAleese delivered a captivating and inspiring lecture to mark the launch of the Ireland Canada University Foundation’s D’Arcy McGee Beacon Fellowship Program. Watch back here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InOtq4YwStA

To celebrate UN Day, the Embassy of Ireland in Ottawa have organised a conversation about Ireland's work at the UN . They will be speaking with Cmdt. Colin Sheridan, a veteran of four overseas missions with the Irish Defence Forces, and Aoife Erraught, a diplomat at Ireland's Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York. Tune in on Wednesday 28 October at 2pm PST on the Ireland in Canada YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJqeUqcNnnOPg7HB1gv_98w

Thanks so much to Ambassador Eamonn McKee for being our our guest speaker at the November First Thursday Business Breakfast. The Ambassador spoke about "Diplomacy in a Time of Covid". You can watch it back here: https://us02web.zoom.us//H2CytmyjCfWRpf-c0jO345BB3cYV4MAKS PASSWORD: nH^T2LNd

Did you know that Halloween has been celebrated in Ireland for over 1,000 years, making Ireland the Home of Halloween? Have fun this Halloween with our spooky activity and colouring sheets for kids! Available to download from our website here:... https://www.dfa.ie//news/ireland---home-of-halloween-.html See more

Congratulations to the new Ambassador of Ireland to Canada, Eamonn McKee, who presented his credentials to the Governor General of Canada, Julie Payette, today. Another great milestone in Ireland-Canada relations! Wishing Ambassador McKee and his family all the very best at the start of their tenure in Canada

Huge congratulations to the Irish Canadian Immigration Centre, voted Best Learning Center by readers of The Toronto Star! A very well-deserved award. Find out more about the work and services of I/CAN at their website www.irishcdn.org

Calling all Irish in Vancouver! Do you see yourself living in Vancouver long-term, or maybe forever? The City of Vancouver are looking for feedback from communities to feed into their Vancouver Plan. Join this Future City Workshop for the Irish Community and get involved in planning the future of our city Thursday 26 November 2020, 1-2pm PST ... This conversation is being hosted to feed into the City of Vancouver's Vancouver Plan consultation process: https://vancouverplan.ca/get-involved/ Email [email protected] for more details and to register!

It is important to keep a strong focus on our mental well-being and health at this time of year, especially given the recent increased restrictions here in British Columbia. Micheal O’Rourke, National Social Care Advisor at Irish Canadian Immigration Centre will talk about the mental health impacts of COVID-19, identify strategies to manage uncertainty during COVID-19 and look at what we have learned from the first wave that can help us prepare for any further COVID-19 measures in the months ahead. Register below for this webinar taking place on Saturday 14 November at 10am PST.

Did you miss last week's Féile na Gaeilge? Not to worry! You can watch back some of the main events on the Ireland in Canada YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJqeUqcNnnOPg7HB1gv_98w

Join us today at 2pm PST for a Comedy Irish Lesson for absolute beginners with award winning comedian, and Ireland's only unqualified guerrilla Irish teacher, Áine Gallagher! Áine will provide some unique tips on how to learn and speak Irish. Fans of deadpan humour will enjoy Áine's alternative and enlightening stories of the mistakes she's made and major successes on her own Irish language journey. Join her and learn why speaking Irish is exactly the same as making mug cakes. This event will be live-streamed on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJqeUqcNnnOPg7HB1gv_98w

Thanks so much to Ambassador Eamonn McKee for being our our guest speaker at the November First Thursday Business Breakfast. The Ambassador spoke about "Diplomacy in a Time of Covid". You can watch it back here: https://us02web.zoom.us//H2CytmyjCfWRpf-c0jO345BB3cYV4MAKS PASSWORD: nH^T2LNd

The #EUFF2020 has moved online this year for the first time & is coming soon with a wonderful line-up of movies! Be sure to tune into the Irish entry "The Last Right" showing November 26-27th. Tickets & full details below

Tune in at 4.30pm PST today for a Q&A with ICUF scholar, Rút Ní Theimhneáin as part of Féile na Gaeilge, Ceanada! Rút grew up in a Spanish-Irish-English speaking household in the small Gaeltacht area of Ráth Chairn. We’ll be chatting about her journey from Ráth Chairn to Maynooth University to study Irish, her life as an ICUF Scholar in Canada, and what it’s like to be a social media influencer, as gaeilge. Tune in live on the Ireland in Canada YouTube page at 4.30pm P...ST: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJqeUqcNnnOPg7HB1gv_98w See more

Féile na Gaeilge, Ceanada is upon us! Today's Class for Beginners is full but there are still places available for both Ciorcal Comhrá on Thursday. And of course you can join all of the other events by tuning into the Ireland in Canada YouTube channel! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJqeUqcNnnOPg7HB1gv_98w

The National Famine Museum at Strokestown Park and the Irish Heritage Trust have launched the Great Famine Voices Roadshow 2020 Famine Heroes virtual events season of documentaries and online lectures from October 4 October 25. Their first event on Sunday 4 October looks at Montreal's Grey Nuns. Read more below: These Famine Heroes virtual events provide uplifting stories about coping with epidemic and pay tribute to caregivers, both in the mid-nineteenth century and t...oday. They are funded by the Government of Ireland Emigrant Support Programme. Please join us this week for our "Famine Heroes" short film documenting Montreal’s Grey Nuns and the Great Hunger. The most powerful eyewitness accounts of the suffering of Famine emigrants in North America can be found in the annals of the Grey Nuns who cared for them in the fever sheds of Montreal. Discover the stories of James Flood from Strokestown and Rose Brown from Galway who were cared for by the Grey Nuns after losing their parents. Learn about the miracle of Rose’s marble which led to her reunification with her mother and vocation to join the Grey Nuns as Sister St. Patrice. Over six thousand Irish emigrants are buried in Montreal, the largest Famine Irish mass grave outside of Ireland, which is marked by the Black Rock memorial. This burial ground has been recently excavated. The film pays tribute to Montreal’s Famine Irish and their Canadian caregivers. Watch the story here: http://greatfaminevoices.ie/famine-heroes/ Please join us for a post-show discussion with the film makers on Zoom on Sunday, October 4th at 7pm Irish Time, 2pm Eastern Standard Time in North America. Join Zoom Meeting https://quinnipiac.zoom.us/j/96845795393 Meeting ID: 968 4579 5393 Passcode: famine

A big ‘Go raibh míle maith agat’ to Eilis Courtney, who gave a fascinating and informative presentation at our virtual October business breakfast event yesterday morning. Eilis spoke of the advice she has for anyone looking to find their dream job, her 30+ years of working in UBC and the importance of of acknowledging and respecting the Indigenous community. You can listen back to Eilis' presentation using the direct link and password below, while also making sure to check o...ut the learning resource links on Indigenous Communities in Canada underneath: https://us02web.zoom.us//hfTnAMSdBNtM-__ka3NzRmWPEa4HvUT8l : @bJ&.@2& : 1) https://indigenous.ubc.ca/ 2) https://www.coursera.org/learn/indigenous-canada 3) http://www.trc.ca/assets/pdf/Calls_to_Action_English2.pdf 4) http://www.firstnations101.com/ 5) https://native-land.ca/

Get ready for Féile na Gaeilge Ceanada 2020! Ourselves and the Embassy of Ireland in Ottawa have prepared a program of events, from 5-8 October (next week!), celebrating the Irish language in Canada. Whether you are "just interested" or a fluent speaker, there is something for everyone! This is pan-Canadian event so you will have a chance to hear from and interact with Irish language speakers and scholars from across the country. Not to be missed! Full details can be found here: https://www.dfa.ie//feile-na-gaeilge-ceanada-2020-05-08-oc

Don't forget to register for our October Business Breakfast happening on Thursday this week! We sadly still cannot actually give you breakfast yet but we will be providing a fascinating guest speaker and an online forum to connect with other Irish people in British Columbia

Congratulations to The Celtic Connection on the launch of their redesigned website. Earlier this summer we were sad to learn about the discontinuation of the print edition of this excellent newspaper which has been instrumental in connecting the Irish community in Western Canada over the course of three decades. We wish Maura, and Catholine the very best for the future. You can read messages from Consul General Frank Flood, and former Ambassador Jim Kelly on the website here: http://celtic-connection.com/