Ireland named country partner for Nagaland’s Hornbill Festival 2025

New Delhi: Ireland is the official Country Partner for Hornbill Festival 2025, the flagship international culture festival of Nagaland, announced Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio and Irish Ambassador Kevin Kelly at the Naga House in the national capital on Tuesday.

As the official country partner of Hornbill Festival, the Embassy of Ireland is delighted to bring in a range of very enriching public engagements, Ambassador Kelly said.

‘Our presence will comprise investment roundtables, music showcases, public art installations, literary & theatre-arts work, and a special curation of a dialogue series on Ireland, India, and Empire. Members of the acclaimed Irish folk band The Mary Wallopers come together with other Irish musicians to form the music ensemble Boinn, and will perform at the opening of the Hornbill Festival in addition to their much-awaited music set. Hailing from Dublin and Dundalk, Ireland, Boinn are ready to bring traditional Irish ballads and rare folk songs into vibrant and contemporary spirit at the Hornbill festival,’ he said, according to an official release.

The Embassy will host a special discussion by Professor Jane Ohlmeyer, Member of the Royal Irish Academy (MRIA), one of Ireland’s most distinguished historians and Chair of the Irish Research Council, who, will explore Ireland’s history of colonisation and the shared lessons learned with Nagaland, it said.

Speaking at the event, Ambassador of Ireland, Kevin Kelly, said, ‘Ireland’s partnership with the Hornbill Festival reflects the growing depth of Ireland-India relations and the shared commitment to cultural collaboration and peacebuilding dialogue. We hope that people of Nagaland enjoy the best of Irish art, culture and theatre and that the connections we make at Hornbill 2025 lead to even greater collaboration in the future.’

Highlighting Nagaland’s support for the collaboration, Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, stated, ‘Nagaland is honoured to welcome Ireland as our Country Partner for this year’s Hornbill Festival. Ireland’s rich culture, heritage, and artistic traditions resonate deeply with our own, making this partnership both meaningful and special.

We see immense potential for expanded collaboration across culture, tourism, education, creative industries, youth exchange, sustainable development, and people-to-people engagement. Ireland’s participation will greatly enrich the festival and strengthen the bonds between our peoples. We look forward to celebrating this friendship and forging new pathways of cooperation in the Land of Festivals.’