Events 2024

HSH Prince Albert II & HRH Princess of Hanover attend a special musical matinée at the Library.

Today exactly 40 years to the day since 20th November 1984, when they inaugurated the Princess Grace Irish Library in tribute to Their mother, we were honoured to welcome HSH Prince Albert II & HRH Princess of Hanover for a fitting tribute with an Irish music concert by the young students from the Académie Rainier III and renowned Irish flute player Fintan Vallely.

The commemorative event was a celebration of Princess Grace's attachment to Ireland and her enduring legacy to promote Irish culture and music.

This event is sold out! Call us to put your name on the waiting list!

Brilliant and witty performance by the talented actors from the Monaco-Ireland Arts Society.

Retrospective: Humorous scenes from the Restoration to the Rising

The joint event is particularly special as it is a celebration of our anniversary years - the 30th year for the Society and the 40th year for the Library. We are passionate about our shared mission to promote Irish culture and the Arts. 

Join us for a lecture by Academic-in-Residence, Dr Darragh Gannon, visiting from Georgetown University, Washington D.C. for three weeks in October. Dr Gannon has been awarded the autumn 2024 bursary from The Ireland Funds Monaco.

The title of his talk is 'The Republic of Letters, 1919-1923: Count Gerald O'Kelly and the Irish Revolutionary World'.

FRIDAY OCTOBER 11 - SUNDAY OCTOBER 13, 2024

Guadalupe Smurfit, President of The Ireland Funds Monaco &
John Fitzpatrick, Honorary Chair of The Ireland Funds Monaco
Under the High Patronage of His Serene Highness Prince Albert II

invite you to the 2024 Monaco Weekend Celebrations
Honoring Dermot Desmond
Recipient of the 2024 Princess Grace Humanitarian Award

Enjoy a visit to the Princess Grace Irish Library, a cultural treasure of Monaco, which houses Princess Grace’s personal collection of music sheets and books, which were originally in her office at the palace. Discover Princess Grace's Irish roots and her attachment to County Mayo, the birthplace of her grandfather John B. Kelly in 1847.  Discover four decades of the Library continuing her legacy to promote Irish literature and heritage in Monaco, since its inauguration in 1984, two years after the Princess' untimely death in 1982.

Drop in anytime. If you wish to join a guided visit, please check the allocated times and make a reservation by email : info@pgil.mc

"Princess Grace and Her Irish Library: The Remarkable Story of Prince Rainier III’s Tribute to His Wife"

Join us for this special cross-Atlantic discussion, with Dr. Alexander L. Ames, Director of Outreach & Engagement at the Rosenbach Museum & Library, in conversation with the Director and a Trustee of the Princess Grace Irish Library to learn more about Princess Grace, the origins of the library, the work of the library today, and how Princess Grace’s legacy lives on in Philadelphia, Monaco, and Mayo, Ireland.  

Would you like to participate in a five-day trip in Ireland to build your life skills onboard a youth training ship?

This all expenses-paid sea voyage( with on land excursions) is funded by the Monaco Ireland Network for the lucky few who are awarded a place. Sailing experience is not necessary.

The trip takes place sometime July - September 2024. Deadline to apply is Friday 24th May at 13.00 CET.

Those interested can email for more details on info@atlanticyouthtrust.org 

Monaco's red carpet will be rolled out for the exclusive cinematic screening of the film Quintessentially Irish, while down the coast the Cannes Film Festival opens.

The film-documentary features an interview with H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco and others including Pierce Brosnan, Jeremy Irons and Bob Geldof. The film's award-winning Irish director Frank Mannion will introduce the film to the audience in the Principality and we'll have a chance to chat with him during the welcome cocktail. The Monaco screening takes place at the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation conference hall on Port Hercules, thanks to the genorsity of Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou. 

Join us for an insightful lecture by academic Dr Maria McHale of TU Dublin who will reveal the story behind 'Eithne' the romantic opera in the Irish language, which was based on an Irish folk story.

Among the collections at the Princess Grace Irish Library is a rare copy of Robert O’Dwyer’s Irish-language opera, Eithne (1910) - which will be on display. What is remarkable about the score is that it contains a large number of signatures dated 21 May 1910, among them Robert O’Dwyer’s along with an array of singers including Joseph O’Mara and Evelyn Duffy, capturing some of the excitement of that particular night which was the last of a week-long run of the opera at the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin.

Zoë Conway & John Mc Intyre - award-winning, traditional Irish musicians will perform a mix of traditional and contemporary music and song on fiddle, guitar and vocals. Much of their repertoire has been composed by themselves and has links to the landscape of the Cooley mountains where we come from, and some pieces are inspired by artists like Seamus Heaney.

“Simply one of the best folk duos on the planet” (BBC)

An illustrated talk on the relationship between the Prince's Family and successive Irish presidents as seen through their correspondence by Flor MacCarthy, The Ireland Funds Monaco Writer-in-Residence. Based on her bestselling book The Presidents’ Letters: An Unexpected History of Ireland, journalist and author Flor MacCarthy, presents highlights which show the warm friendship between Ireland and Monaco which continues to this day.

Flor will reveal other highlights from her book, including letters between President de Valera, JFK and his widow Jacqueline Kennedy;  and the envelope on which President McAleese scribbled a phonetic message in Irish, which was used by HRH Queen Elizabeth II as the opening words of her historic speech in Ireland in 2011.

The Princess Grace Irish Library in Monaco hosted its traditional harp music concert on Wednesday 13th March, followed by a special rendez-vous between H.R.H. The Princess of Hanover and Irish author Flor MacCarthy, whose book contains a letter from five-year old Princess Caroline to the President of Ireland in January 1962.  

This year’s Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations centred around correspondence to the Presidents of Ireland, including thank you letters from the mother and daughter Princesses of Monaco to President Éamon de Valera for his gift of an Irish pony to Princess Caroline in 1962.

A letter from a Princess to a President about an Irish pony

St Patrick’s Day celebrations with music and correspondence to Ireland.

The Princess Grace Irish Library in Monaco hosted its traditional harp music concert on March 13th followed by a special rendez-vous between H.R.H. The Princess of Hanover and Irish author Flor MacCarthy, whose book contains a letter from five-year old Princess Caroline to the President of Ireland in January 1962.  

This year’s St Patrick’s Day celebrations centred around correspondence to the Presidents of Ireland, including thank you letters from the mother and daughter Princesses of Monaco to President Éamon de Valera for his gift of an Irish pony. The talk by Flor, The Ireland Funds Monaco spring 2024 Writer-in-Residence was inspired by her book, The Presidents’ Letters – An Unexpected History of Ireland.

Enjoy an evening of storytelling and a multimedia, virtual tour of county Mayo, in the west of Ireland with anecdotes by Neal Doherty, author and tourist guide. Discover the history, the heritage, the ancestral home of the Kelly family and many French links to the county, as well as the sculpture in Newport unveiled by H.S.H. Prince Albert II in 2023, near the birthplace of Princess Grace's paternal grandfather John Henry Kelly. Hear about the pirate Queen, Grace O’Malley, and the impact that Mayo had on world history, the influence of St Patrick and the victories of General Humbert when he arrived with French troops in 1798. 

Online ticket sales now open!

St. Brigid’s Day is celebrated on February 1st in Ireland. The ancient Celtic festival of Imbolc, traditionally marks the beginning of spring and has evolved into a celebration of the achievements and creativity of women with a connection to Ireland. Princess Grace's legacy is representative of the vibrant voices of the women of Ireland.

Wednesday 24th January 2024 at 7pm  

Join author and historian, Patrick O'Sullivan Greene, who will give a lecture entitled 'Revolution to Royalty - The making of an Irish-American Princess', weaving in the experiences of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Judge Daniel F. Cohalan and Jack Kelly (Olympic champion, self-made millionaire, politician and father of Princess Grace née Kelly). 

Online ticket sales now open! 

The Princess Grace Irish Library announces the theme for its 2024 cultural programme of events in the context of the 40th year celebration of the inauguration of the library in 1984 by Prince Rainier III.

We are delighted to announce the recipient of the spring 2024 bursary, generously supported by The Ireland Funds Monaco. Flor MacCarthy is a celebrated author, journalist and former RTÉ TV presenter who will spend the month of March as Writer-in-Residence.