Ireland: working to ensure there will never be a hard border after Brexit

Ahead of Sunday's St Patrick's Day celebrations, Ireland's ambassador to France Patricia O'Brien speaks to RFI on Brexit: "We have regretted the decision in the United Kingdom to leave the European Union...and we continue to regret it. However we respect the decision."

H.E. Patricia O'Brien - Ambassador of Ireland in France RFI

This weekend will see many iconic landmarks across the globe lit-up in green, to mark St Patrick’s Day.

On Sunday 17 March, a St Patrick’s Day parade is to take place here in Paris around the Pantheon in the 5^th arrondissement and the nearby Irish Cultural Centre.

Celebrations aside, Ireland has found itself on the front-line of the Brexit conundrum as the remaining EU 27 want to ensure there is no return to a hard border with Northern Ireland once the UK leaves the union.

Ahead of the arrival of Ireland's deputy Prime Minister & Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tàiniste Simon Coveny, RFI asked Ambassador of Ireland to France, Her Excellency Patricia O’Brien, what Ireland feels the consequences of Brexit will be for the EU, Ireland and Northern Ireland – and what are the best and worst case scenarios?