Irish Expats 

Cape Town - South Africa 

There is a small but active community of Irish expats living in Cape Town and they have their own club in the Mother City staging various events throughout the year.

Below you will find some places where you usually can meet the Irish in Cape Town and where you can get more information and advice regarding business relations between South Africa and Ireland.

St Patricks Day in Cape Town 

Irish expats in Cape Town and Capetonians usually celebrate St Patricks Day with a fun celebration on 17 March with free traditional Irish music and dance performances. Dressing in green is a tradition, so join in and bring the family for a fun evening out!

In 2020, St Patricks Day will be celebrated in the week of Wednesday, 17 March and we expect some fabulous events will be happening again in Cape Town. Let's see if the city's iconic Table Mountain will be lit up again in a radiant shade of green on the eve of St Patricks Day as we have seen some years before.

St Patrick's Day Party

Head to the Foreign Exchange Bar in Observatory if you want to party with your newfound Irish friends in Cape Town or of course head the other well known Cape Town Irish pubs, The Dubliner in Long Street or O'Driscolls in Hout Street. And of course there are several parties going on all over town. Please keep coming back here, we will add the upcoming events as soon as we get them in. :-)

Truly Irish Pubs in Cape Town

• The Dubliner: This is one of Cape Town's favorite meeting places for Irish expats. The Dubliner (formerly Kennedy's) is a big Irish pub with live music. They have big screen TVs and show major sports events. 251 Long Street, Cape Town, Tel: 021 424 1212
• O'Driscolls Irish Pub and Restaurant: Another great meeting place in the CBD. 38 Hout Street, Corner Burg Street, Tel: 021 424 7453
• More Irish Pubs in Cape Town here 

Ireland Business 

Business Ireland is an association that acts as a link between South African and Irish companies with an interest in investing in Ireland. They work on membership base and offer various meetings, lectures and events to their members. Get in touch with their Cape Town chapter here. More about foreign chambers in Cape Town

Irish South African Association

The Irish South African Association (ISAA) promotes Irish culture and supports Irish expats living in South Africa. The ISAA facilitates contact between Irish people and anybody interested in Ireland and the Irish. A comprehensive website provides information for anybody interested in learning about Ireland or looking for information on groups of Irish people in South Africa. Find access to their site here. 

Emergency Contact for Irish Expats

If you need assistance in an emergency, contact the Embassy of Ireland which is located in Pretoria. Embassy of Ireland Contact Details

Irish Charity

Have you heard about the great involvement of the Irish in Cape Town?

Irish poperty developer Niall Mellon started his Township Trust (NMTT) in 2002 and since then every year around 1,000 Irish volunteers joined the building blitz of his house-building charity. The initiative not only provided jobs but also trained many local construction workers from disadvantaged backgrounds. In the ten years between 2002 and 2012 more than 100,000 homes were build in South Africans. In 2012 the trust decided to move on with its initiative to Kenya where help is needed too and again huge efforts are made to recruit again over 2000 people mainly from Ireland and Europe in this program for which more than 10,000 Irish volonteers already helped. Read more on the Niall Mellon Township Trust.

It is sad to see the largest NPO in South Africa in the social housing sector to move on, but their efforts over the last years should be highly commended. So support the worthy cause and read more on how you can help to make a difference

Do you have more specific information for this national group or on Irish expats in Cape Town? Or any questions regarding other expat communities in Cape Town? Then send me a quick note via my contact form.

Do you want to know why expats choose Cape Town as their new home? Then you definitely should look at these sections in ExpatCapeTown which are a good introduction for Irish expats.

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