Krakow (photo by smif / flickr.com)

Since the entry of Poland to the European Union in 2004, many Poles headed west. Some reached the United Kingdom and stayed, but a large number also descended upon the Emerald Isle, and found jobs in cities around Ireland.

Click on the audio icon to listen to the report by John Beauchamp.

As a result, interest in cooperation between the two countries has now become reality, as the Irish capital Dublin has now signed an agreement with the southern city of Kraków on the exchange of know-how in a various number of fields.

Lord Mayor of Dublin Eibhlin Byrne came to Kraków in the company of Irish ambassador to Poland HE Declan O’ Donovan to sign the agreement with the President of Poland’s cultural capital, Prof. Jacek Majchrowski.

A down-to-earth approach between the two cities means that Poland’s cultural capital will help Dublin with its transport infrastructure, as well as municipal heating and waste management. The prelimary arrangement is to last for three years, after which the two cities may sign a twinning agreement, and it will have benefits not just to the Irish citizens living in Dublin, but also to Poles living there.