75 years of the swedish-irish society

Then...

The society was established in 1949, at a time when trips to Ireland were well beyond the reach of the ordinary Swede.

The focus was very much on Irish literature and culture.

The membership was almost entirely composed of Swedes - there weren't even a lot of Irish people living in Sweden at the time!

...30 years on...

For the 30 year anniversary a celebratory booklet was produced.

As the years rolled on by, more and more Irish people started living in Sweden and looked for ways to keep in touch with Irish customs and craic. As the Irish created Swedish-Irish families the focus became more and more on promoting what makes the Swedish-Irish connection special.

The first St Patrick's Day parade was held in 2005 - a small but enthusiastic group gathered in a square in Stockholm on a bitterly cold day. It was impossible to imagine that it would grow to this 20 years later:

and now, 75 years on

To celebrate the most recent milestone year in 2025, another celebratory booklet was produced, featuring stories from members past and present about what the society meant to them.

We also produced a song: 

And this debuted at an evening with music, dancing, good food and wine.

Thanks to the Irish government's Emigrant Support Programme for their support marking the anniversary!