John Biggar who is the Irish Ambassador to Bulgaria is also the ambassador of Ireland to Armenia and Georgia. He lives in Sofia with his family since October 2013. According to the embassy, about 3,000 Bulgarians live in the Republic of Ireland and 25,000 Irish nationals have bought properties in Bulgaria - mainly along the Black Sea. Small Ireland is home to nearly 4.5 million people, and people around the world with an Irish passport are over 40 million.

On the Day of St. Patrick, Ireland’s National Day, the Sydney Opera House, the Statue of Christ in Rio De Janeiro and the Great Wall of China will be illuminated in green lights as besides Ireland processions dedicated to the holiday will be held in New York, Moscow, Beijing, Berlin.

For the first time this year a Bulgarian town will honor the feast of St. Patrick - this is Chepelare in the Rhodope Mountain where for more than 20 years there are special friendly relationships between local people and Irish people who each year go skiing there. The municipal hall of Chepelare will be illuminated in green on the evening of March 17!

On the occasion of Ireland’s National Day BNR’s Assia Chaneva talks to HE John Biggar about his first impressions of Bulgaria, the similarity between Bulgarian and Irish people, about what he likes in Bulgarian traditions and also about the future of the EU. (The full interview is contained in the audio file.)