Dublin Lunar New Year 2022 | Welcome - 2022 - Dublin Lunar New Year 2022

President Michael D. Higgins

President of Ireland

I am delighted to send my best wishes to you all as you celebrate the commencement of the Year of the Tiger.

In Chinese culture the tiger is a symbol of courage and power, strong in the face of adversity and persistent in pursuit of its goals. During 2021, we continued to face the challenges of the Coronavirus Pandemic. All of us were called on to display the courage and strong moral integrity that is so essential to the creation of a better world and a society built on fairness and solidarity.

I thank our Chinese community, and those who join you in celebrating Dublin Lunar New Year, for answering that important call with generosity and good will. I also thank you for the many ways in which you contribute so positively to our modern and constantly evolving Irish nation.

I wish you all a happy and safe new year.

Alison Gilliland

Lord Mayor of Dublin

As Lord Mayor of Dublin, I wish to extend my best wishes to members of the Asian community in Ireland and everyone celebrating the Lunar New Year.

Representing courage, tenacity and generosity, the Tiger embodies many characteristics that we can hope to emulate as we prepare for the coming year. Those born under this sign are also known for their confidence, sense of adventure and loyalty, making Tigers truly fierce friends.

For the past 14 years, this festival has platformed Asian culture with a vibrant programme for all ages to enjoy. A highlight of the city’s cultural calendar and one of the largest celebrations of its kind in Europe, Dublin Lunar New Year is an opportunity to celebrate the communities who make Dublin the wonderfully diverse and multicultural city it is today.

I am delighted that The Mansion House will be among a number of buildings across Dublin to light up red to mark the Lunar New Year, and encourage everyone to explore the exciting variety of events taking place for Year of the Tiger.

He Xiangdong

Ambassador of China to Ireland

As we are biding farewell to the Year of the Ox and welcoming the Year of the Tiger, 2022 Dublin Lunar New Year Festival is back again! I would like to take this opportunity to extend my best wishes to the Chinese Community in Ireland and all our Irish friends.

The 2022 Olympics Winter Games is going to kick off in Beijing. China is ready to welcome guests and athletes from all over the world, including those from Ireland. I would like to send my special greetings to Team Ireland. Good luck and enjoy your happy festive time in China.

I am glad to see a good variety of the Festival events despite the difficulties caused by the pandemic. Whether big or small, online or in-person, those events will enable us to communicate from afar, to appreciate the value of arts and greatly enhance friendship and mutual understanding between Chinese and Irish peoples.

The year of Tiger is a year of strength and braveness. I wish you all a strong, courageous and prosperous new year!

Xin Nian Kuai Le! Happy New Year!

Ann Derwin

Ambassador of Ireland to China

I am pleased to once again have the opportunity to congratulate Dublin City Council on organising the Dublin Lunar New Year festival, and to welcome you to this year’s full programme of interesting and exciting events.

In 2022 we will celebrate the Year of the Tiger, which symbolises willpower, courage and personal strength. I am sure that we will continue to draw on these attributes in the challenging context of the pandemic.

It is wonderful to see how the Dublin Festival continues to go from strength to strength since it was first marked in 2008. As Ireland’s Ambassador to China, I know how important a time the Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival, is in China and indeed for Chinese people all over the world. I know too how significant this time of year is for many other countries and cultures and the expansion of the festival to encompass this is another welcome development.

Congratulations to all who were involved in organising this year’s event. I send greetings to all who will mark the Year of the Tiger, particularly to the Chinese community in Ireland, and my best wishes to all for a happy and healthy 2022.

Ki-hwan Kweon

Ambassador of Korea to Ireland

Happy Lunar New Year from the Korean Embassy in Ireland!

I’d like to say a special thanks to Dublin City Council for their recognition of this important celebration.

We cherish this holiday at home in Korea. The Lunar New Year holds a special spot in our calendar where spending time with family and paying tribute to our ancestors are top priorities. Through our lived experience of the last two years, we know now more than ever that such gatherings cannot be taken for granted.

With this in mind, it is wonderful to see the Lunar New Year embraced by the Irish people and I am looking forward to the range of activities that lay ahead.

I hope that everyone enjoys the festivities as we celebrate the Year of the Tiger!

Athbhliain Lunar faoi mhaise daoibh go léir.

Julian Clare

Ambassador of Ireland to Korea

Happy Lunar New Year from Korea!

In Korea, the Lunar New Year festival is known as Seollal, and at this time people travel to visit their families to celebrate the beginning of the new year together. In recent years, celebrating in person hasn’t been easy so I am delighted to see the extensive online programme prepared to mark the beginning of the Year of the Tiger.

I hope that everyone celebrating, both in Ireland and in Korea, has a happy and peaceful Lunar New Year and enjoys the festival! 새해 복 많이 받으세요!

John McCullagh

Ambassador of Ireland to Vietnam

Marking the start of the Lunar New Year, Tết is the most important holiday in Vietnam. The parallels with Christmas in Ireland are striking. As in Ireland at Christmas, families gather together to celebrate, visit each other’s homes and pay tribute to those that have passed on. Food plays a central role, including Bánh Chưng, a cake with rice, pork and green beans, wrapped in bamboo or banana leaves. Homes across Hanoi are decorated with delicate peach blossoms or kumquat trees. In Ho Chi Minh City, peach blossoms give way to vibrant apricot blossoms.

In Vietnam and among the Vietnamese community in Ireland, Tết celebrations will be muted due to COVID-19. Many Vietnamese will be unable to travel home to be with their families in the same way that many Irish living here have been unable to travel home for Christmas. The pandemic has changed our world and our lives. Tết is a time to try to put aside the troubles of the past year and to look forward in hope for a better year to come.

To the Vietnamese community in Ireland and to the Irish Community in Vietnam, Chúc mừng năm mới – Happy New Year.

Hilary Reilly

Ambassador of Ireland to Malaysia

Greetings from the Embassy of Ireland in Kuala Lumpur!

I am delighted to extend my congratulations to Dublin City Council on the occasion of the 2022 Dublin Lunar New Year Festival. Now in its fifteenth year, the Festival has another great programme of events planned in 2022.

Chinese New Year is one of Malaysia’s biggest holidays, and it is widely celebrated in the country. The uniquely Malaysian “Open House”, held as part of many different cultural and religious festivals, including Chinese New Year, encapsulates very well the spirit of the celebration: a joining together of family, friends and the wider community, and the conveying of good wishes for health, happiness and prosperity in the year ahead.

I send my best wishes to everyone celebrating the Lunar New Year, including, in particular, Malaysians in Ireland who are marking the occasion.

May the Year of the Tiger bring strength, bravery and confidence, as the Tiger symbolises in the Chinese zodiac.

Pádraig Francis

Ambassador of Ireland to Indonesia

Greetings from the Embassy of Ireland in Jakarta.

Lunar New Year will be widely celebrated in Indonesia and throughout Southeast Asia, and across the world. This festival strengthens the links between peoples worldwide, and I am delighted that it is celebrated every year in Dublin.

Contact between different peoples, and the experience of other cultures and traditions, strengthens harmony, prosperity and the friendship between the people of Ireland and those of other countries. As we emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic, I hope that people in Ireland will travel throughout the world as before, in particular to Asia, and that people in Asia will travel to Ireland to receive a traditional warm Irish welcome.

The Embassy of Ireland in Jakarta send their best to everyone who will celebrate Lunar New Year in Ireland.

Pat Bourne

Ambassador of Ireland to Singapore

Greetings from Singapore, and best wishes to everyone in Ireland who is celebrating the
Lunar New Year!

This year, the Lunar New Year falls on 1 February, the same day as St Brigid’s Day, and here at the Irish Embassy in Singapore, and at our Embassies across the South East Asia region, we will be marking the occasion by highlighting and celebrating the role of women in our societies.

We’ll be encouraging our communities and friends to share stories of women who inspire,
create, succeed and teach. You could say we’re going to declare this the Year of the Tigress! If you are interested, please do find the Irish Embassy Singapore on Social Media and join in.

My team and I send every good wish for the Festival and wish all of you a happy, healthy,
peaceful and prosperous New Year.

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