PRESS RELEASE
From the Intramuros Administration

FORT SANTIAGO TURNS GREEN FOR ST. PATRICK’S DAY

Fort Santiago gate was illuminated bright green on March 12, in a ceremony led by Ambassador William Carlos of the Embassy of Ireland in the Philippines, together with Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin,Jr. and Papal Nuncio to the Philippines Archbishop Charles J. Brown.

The event, which kicked off in Intramuros as part of Ireland’s greening global initiative, saw Fort Santiago join other iconic landmarks and sites around the world as they also turn bright green starting this week to mark St Patrick’s Day on March 17.

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PRESS RELEASE
From the Embassy of Ireland in the Philippines

IRELAND TURNS HISTORIC SITES GREEN TO MARK NATIONAL DAY

Green is the colour that has become associated with Ireland and the Irish people around the world. This is particularly emphasised in the days around the Festival of St Patrick, Ireland’s National Day, on 17 March each year. To mark St Patrick’s Day this year, Ireland and the Philippines are cooperating to participate in a cultural exchange initiative called the Global Greening. Cities all around the world take part in this initiative, and the Embassy is excited that the Philippines will now participate for the first time. This is an opportunity to promote cultural exchange and to share Ireland’s story with the people of the Philippines.

The historical sites of the Gates of Fort Santiago in Intramuros and the Rizal Monument in Rizal Park will be illuminated in green for one week each – Fort Santiago from 12 March to 19 March and the Rizal Park from 14 March to 20 March. This marks a significant step forward in cooperation to promote cultural exchanges between Ireland and the Philippines. The Embassy is proud to welcome the historic landmarks to the list of sites participating in 2022.
The Rizal Monument and the Gates of Fort Santiago have a strong resonance for the similarities between Irish and Filipino history. As a writer, a poet and a revolutionary, there are many parallels between the life of Jose Rizal and the Irish revolutionaries executed in Ireland’s own struggle for independence. It was on the very same site of Intramuros that Rizal married his Irish wife, Josephine Bracken, on the eve of his execution.

This year the values of these revolutionaries remains even more relevant in the context of Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified military aggression against Ukraine, which grossly violates international law, and undermines international security and stability. In line with our values, Ireland stands in solidarity with the Ukrainian people, and with all people facing displacement, oppression and conflict around the world.

Ireland established an Embassy in the Philippines last November to build deeper political, trade and cultural relations. While the two island nations are on the opposite sides of the world, the links between the two countries have been growing steadily. People-to-people relations are at the heart of these links, with many Filipinos calling Ireland home (the largest diaspora in Ireland from South East Asia), while there is also a strong community of Irish in the Philippines.