Ireland's relationship with Hungary
Drawing inspiration from each other
Ireland and Hungary’s ties date back to at least the Middle Ages. Through our long pursuits of freedom, the Hungarian and Irish people often drew inspiration from each other. In the early 19th century, Lajos Kossuth wrote admiringly of Ireland's Liberator, Daniel O'Connell.
Decades later, Irish nationalists, most notably Arthur Griffith, drew on the examples of Kossuth, Ferenc Deák and others, whilst WB Yeats lauded the bravery of the 1848 revolutionaries, offering them ''libations from the Hungary of the West.''
In 1956, Ireland sheltered 541 Hungarians fleeing Soviet tanks – the first major UN refugee programme in the young state’s history. Diplomatic relations were established in 1976, with Hungary opening an Embassy in Dublin in 1991, and Ireland in Budapest in 1995.
On 1 May 2004, our relationship entered a new phase as, on the Day of the Welcomes in Dublin, Hungary joined the European Union during Ireland’s EU Presidency.
Shared community
Today, as members of that shared community, Ireland and Hungary enjoy remarkably vibrant connections across culture, commerce and peoples. Some 10,000 Hungarians have made Ireland their home, contributing hugely to our society.
Although smaller in scale, the Irish community in Hungary is no less impactful, celebrating our culture through arts and language, and actively supporting our Embassy in promoting trade and tourism. Hungary is also home to a remarkable community of outstanding Irish studies scholars, as well as to many Irish students in specialist fields.
Linked in literature
Ireland and Hungary share a deep reverence for literature. Poets, in particular, played a seminal role in establishing both nations and writers still shape our national identities.
One of William Butler Yeats’s first published poems was inspired by the heroism of the Hungarian Revolutionaries of 1848. Entitled "How Ferencz Renyi Kept Silent", it lamented that:
We, too, have seen our bravest and our best
To prison go, and mossy ruin rest,
Where houses once whitened vale and mountain crest,
Therefore, O nation of the bleeding breast,
Libations from the Hungary of the West.
Irish writers have inspired Hungarians too. Since 2013, the Széchenyi Academy of Letters and Arts has held an annual lecture in honour of Seamus Heaney, bringing many of Ireland’s foremost writers and scholars to Budapest, whilst Literature Ireland has supported the translations of dozens of new award-winning Irish works.
In 2023 Müpa hosted the long anticipated premiere of György Kurtág's opera Endgame, an interpretation of Samuel Beckett's masterpiece, at which our Ambassador presented the great Hungarian composer with a congratulatory letter from President Higgins and a special print of the Irish laureate, created and signed by his friend Louis Le Brocquy.
Hungary’s network of outstanding Irish studies scholars have laid the foundation for these and other projects, celebrating our cultural pasts, while linking a new generation of Irish and Hungarian artists. This includes managing the Embassy’s annual Bursary Programme, supporting young Hungarian scholars in undertaking research in Ireland.
Celtic and Christian connections
Before Árpad led the Magyar tribes here, Celts had settled the Danube basin. The great river owes its name to Danu, Goddess of the Tuatha dé Danann, deities of pre-Christian Ireland.
Today, Gaelic culture remains well represented in Hungary. Budapest hosts a Gaelic football team, the Budapest Gaels, whilst the Irish Hungarian Business Circle celebrates the Irish language through regular pop-up Gaeltachts.
Imbolc, the Celtic feast from which St Brigid’s Day descended, is marked annually by the Embassy with a celebration of remarkable women in Hungary and Ireland. The connections between traditional Irish and Magyar music and dance are especially rich, and find renewal in events and festivals in Budapest, Orfű and elsewhere.
Christian heritage
Ireland and Hungary also connect through their Christian heritage. No history is more remarkable than that of Győr, the western city in which the Bishop of Clonfert, Walter Lynch, sought sanctuary in 1655, having fled the Cromwellian invasion of Ireland. One of the few possessions Lynch carried with him was a portrait of the Madonna.
On St Patrick’s Day, 1697, the portrait was witnessed weeping - ‘‘Our Lady of Győr’’ has since hung in the city’s stunning cathedral, beneath which Walter Lynch is buried, and has become a site for pilgrims from Ireland and around the world.
Enterprise and education
Since Hungary’s accession to the EU under Ireland’s Council Presidency in 2004, economics and education ties have grown significantly. In 2022, bilateral trade in goods alone totalled over €1 billion for the first time.
A growing number of Irish firms have invested in Hungary, collectively employing more than 4,000 people here. Irish companies help to build Hungarian homes, with Kingspan, CRH and others at the cutting end of the construction sector.
They power Hungarian industry, with ClonBio operating Europe's largest and cleanest grain bio-refinery and ethanol production plant in Solna county. They keep Hungarians healthy, with ICON, the world’s leading clinical research company, marking its 20th year in Hungary in 2023. From 2024, they’re also clothing Hungarians, with Primark opening a flagship store in Budapest.
Irish origins
As RTE television’s Best Place to Be detailed, Hungary is home to several smaller but remarkable companies with Irish origins. The best bread in Budapest is available at Arán Bakery, founded by Hungarian couple Kinga and Attila, inspired by their years in Dublin. Donegal man Mark Cunningham is co-owner of 7Scents, a boutique perfumer in downtown Pest.
Established in 2005, the Irish-Hungarian Business Circle supports these and other Irish enterprises, working closely with the Embassy, Enterprise Ireland, and other state agencies.
Educational links are equally impressive. Many Hungarians study in Ireland, whilst there are currently over 130 Irish students at the University of Veterinary Science in Budapest, with a further 50 or so studying medicine and dentistry at universities across the country, and others studying music teaching at the Kodaly Institute in Kecskemét.