Carney visiting family’s ancestral home in County Mayo today

AGHAGOWER — The people of County Mayo, found on the west coast of Ireland, greeted Prime Minister Mark Carney with open arms on Sunday.

Businesses hung Canadian flags outside their buildings, and groups of people held up signs on the side of the road as Carney made his way into town from the airport.

Carney is continuing his Irish pilgrimage, visiting his family’s ancestral village on the Emerald Isle.

Carney’s grandfather, Robert Carney, and grandmother, Nora Moran, were both from the town of Aughagower, in County Mayo, and immigrated to Canada in the early 1920s.

While in County Mayo, Carney is expected to meet with Irish President Catherine Connolly, attend mass in a church and visit the nearby cemetery, where some of his ancestors are buried.

The prime minister will participate in a tree planting with Aughagower Community Council and later attend and deliver remarks at a civic reception hosted by Mayo County Council.

He will hold a media availability in the afternoon.

Irish Ambassador to Canada John Concannon told The Canadian Press that Carney will tour the village while he’s in town, adding that he still has several relatives in the area.

“We’re absolutely honoured the prime minister is coming. It’s a really huge deal,” said Concannon.

The Mayo News said excitement has been building, and Carney’s visit “has been the subject of conversation everywhere from the queue at the supermarket, pub or barber’s chair.”

In remarks before an official dinner at Dublin Castle, Ireland’s head of government, Micheal Martin, said Saturday that it was an honour to welcome Carney “home.”

“We celebrate the enduring friendship between our two peoples who have stood by one another through generations,” said Martin. “Your grandparents left Ireland seeking opportunity, tonight Ireland welcomes their grandson home.”

Before leaving Dublin Sunday morning, Carney received a plaque from the deputy commissioner of operations of the An Garda Siochána, the national police and security service of the Republic of Ireland.

Carney’s grandfather was one of the first men to join the Garda force when it was established in 1922.

During his time in Ireland, Carney is focusing on deepening Canada and Ireland’s longstanding cultural and people-to-people ties and expanding them across several sectors. In Dublin, he and Martin agreed to work together on artificial intelligence, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and food security.

Global Affairs Canada’s online country profile says Ireland has close ties with Ottawa, grounded in shared visions of human rights and gender equality, and notes that the Irish are the third-largest ethnic group in Canada.

Carney’s visit comes ahead of Ireland assuming the six-month rotating presidency of the European Union, which might prompt Dublin to invite Carney to return this fall when leaders of all EU nations gather, said Deirdre Giblin, head of the Ireland Canada Business Association.

She said the Irish public is aware of Carney’s affinity for their country, as well as his advocacy for Ireland as it recovered from a devastating financial crash.

During his term leading the Bank of Canada, Carney worked with former finance minister Jim Flaherty and Irish colleagues to shape the International Monetary Fund’s response to the country’s economic crisis that began in 2008.

Before becoming prime minister, Carney renounced both his British and Irish citizenships.

Giblin also said Irish people know his quest for “collaborative coalitions” with the continent is taken seriously.

“Of course, he has a little leaning toward us, and we love that, but overall we see him as a Canadian-European,” she said.

Bilateral merchandise trade between Canada and Ireland totalled $6 billion in 2025. Cereals led Canada’s merchandise exports to Ireland, while its imports were led by pharmaceutical products.

Ireland is also on the cusp of finally ratifying the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, or CETA, between Canada and the European Union. The deal provisionally entered into force in 2017 but has not yet been ratified by all EU member states.

Giblin said the CETA deal is likely to be fully ratified two to three weeks after Carney’s visit.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 14, 2026.

—With files from Dylan Robertson in Ottawa

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press