It was an honour to attend the reception for the Irish community in Berlin at Ambassador Maeve Collins‘ residence on Friday, marking Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Simon Harris‘ visit to Berlin. Thank you to the Embassy of Ireland, Berlin – Botschaft von Irland Berlin.

Aisling, Barney, and Nora represented BenBau at this special gathering, particularly meaningful given our sponsorship of the Setanta GAA Club minors team. It was great to meet the young Gaelic team and hear about their upcoming championship.

Minister Harris delivered a powerful speech with a memorable “values test.” He asked us to consider whether there’s something we would have proudly said in 2024, that we now find ourselves ‘whispering’ in 2025. If we resonate with this statement, we have failed. His message was clear: consistency matters, staying true to our values matters, and in our gut, we all know what is right and wrong.

While BenBau is headquartered in Berlin, our Irish roots run deep. We’re proud to represent Ireland on the world stage, and our values align with those of the Irish people – staying true to our principles, no matter the circumstances.

The event also highlighted the strong ties between Ireland and Germany, two committed EU member states. Following Minister Harris’ meeting with German Foreign Minister Wadephul earlier that day, it’s clear that continued collaboration remains vital in these challenging times.