Welcome

Welcome to the website of our Embassy which we hope you will find useful and informative.  In addition to providing information on the services provided by the Embassy, it is a source of information on Ireland and Spain alike and on the links between our two countries.  If you have comments about our website or require further information on Ireland, please contact the Embassy.   

Ireland House Highlights 2011 

2011 was a very busy year for the promotional activities of the Embassy and our State Agency colleagues Enterprise Ireland, An Bord Bia and Tourism Ireland.

To see our photo gallery of Ireland House Highlights for 2011, including the official visit by the President in March and many other events around Spain, please click here

We in Ireland House look forward to continuing to work with you all in 2012

The Embassy of Ireland is now on Twitter! To follow us on Twitter, click on the icon above. To read our Twitter policy, please click here.

Certificate of Irish Heritage

The government has announced the introduction of a certificate of Irish Heritage for individuals born outside the island of Ireland and who are able to demonstrate a direct ancestral connection with the island of Ireland.

For more information, please see here

Memory of Red Hugh O'Donnell honoured in Valladolid

Ambassador Justin Harman and Mayor of Valladolid Francisco Leon de la Riva jointly unveiled a commemorative plaque marking the burial place of Red Hugh O'Donnell in Valladolid on 21 October 2011. The plaque was unveiled in the presence of Vincent O'Donnell, Secretary of the O'Donnell Clan Association and Don Hugo O'Donnell, Duque de Tetuan and current Head of the Spanish branch of the O'Donnell family.

In photo above: Three generations of Spanish O'Donnells, Don Hugo O'Donnell, Duque de Tetuan, with son Hugo and grandson also Hugo, and the Ambassador.

The unveiling was the culmination of efforts over many years by the O'Donnell Clan, in conjunction with the Irish Embassy in Madrid, to mark the final resting place of Red Hugh O'Donnell, one of the most outstanding and best loved figures of Irish history, whose family forged a unique connection with Spain.
Following the defeat of the Irish and Spanish forces by Lord Mountjoy at the Battle of Kinsale, Red Hugh sailed to Spain to plead with King Philip III for further assistance. While waiting for an audience with the King in Simancas near Valladolid, he fell ill and died in September 1602 at the age of twenty-nine. According to historian Micheline Kerney Walsh, his wishes were to be buried in the Church of St Francis in Valladolid and this was done.

 
Photo left : Ambassador Justin Harman speaking at the unveiling of the plaque at the Callejón de San Francisco in Valladolid, watched by l-r Don Hugo O'Donnell, Vincent O'Donnell and Javier Leon de la Riva, Mayor of Valladolid
Photo right, l-r: Vincent O'Donnell, Javier Leon de la Riva, Don Hugo O'Donnell and Ambassador Justin Harman unveiling the plaque marking the burial place of Red Hugh O'Donnell in Valladolid

The plaque hangs near the location where the Church of St. Francis (since destroyed) stood in 1602.
For a copy of the Ambassador's speech at the unveiling, please click here  

Highlights of the official visit of President Mary McAleese to Spain in March 2011

To view video clip, please click here