Carney meets Irish cousins in Aughagower and calls for new alliances on eve of G7
Canadian prime minister Mark Carney spent Sunday in his grandparents' County Mayo village, celebrating Mass with dozens of newfound cousins before delivering a stark call for Canada, Ireland and Europe to forge 'ad hoc coalitions' amid a crumbling rules-based order.
Roots in Aughagower
Canadian prime minister Mark Carney travelled to the village of Aughagower in County Mayo on Sunday, the second day of his first official visit to Ireland in almost a decade. He attended Mass at St Patrick's Church, where his grandparents Robert Carney and Nora Moran were baptised before emigrating to Canada in 1925. Afterwards, surrounded by more than 20 cousins he had never met, Carney quipped:
The visit included a stop at the family grave and the planting of a tree, as local residents lined streets decked with Canadian flags and bunting.I have a lot more cousins than I realised.
A fracturing global order
A day earlier at Trinity College Dublin, Carney struck a far more sombre tone. He described the post-Cold War consensus as breaking down and urged middle powers to respond with purposeful action.
Carney argued that both countries must weave a 'dense web of connections... ad hoc coalitions' to protect shared interests. He added that Canada, Ireland and Europe 'can be pivotal, powerful, and purposeful, a force for good'.Ireland and Canada are navigating a global rupture, not a quiet transition.
Irish response and EU-Canada ties
Taoiseach Micheál Martin, whose country assumes the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union on 1 July, pledged to build on the prime minister's outreach.
Irish president Catherine Connolly welcomed Carney at Westport House on Sunday morning, exchanging pleasantries and joking about climbing the nearby Croagh Patrick in the fine weather.We want to put flesh on the bone of an enhanced European Union-Canadian relationship.
Agenda before the G7
Carney's stop in Ireland comes as he heads to the G7 summit in France. The two-day visit mixed deep personal heritage with a clear message that Ottawa sees tighter transatlantic coordination as essential. The encounter also underscored Dublin's ambition to use its upcoming EU presidency to deepen non-US partnerships at a moment of geopolitical strain.
- Carney speaks at Trinity College Dublin, warning of a global rupture, and meets Taoiseach Micheál Martin at Dublin Castle.
- Carney flies to County Mayo, meets President Catherine Connolly at Westport House, attends Mass in Aughagower, visits the family grave and plants a tree.
