Delivering a homily at the Pro-Cathedral to mark the Feast of the Epiphany, the archbishop of Dublin said it was important for new citizens of Ireland to be welcomed here and to be encouraged to contribute economically and culturally to their new home.

"I greet in a special way our friends from Bulgaria and Romania on their accession to the European Union, in the hope that soon they will be welcomed with the same embrace of equality as citizens of other EU States, " he said. "I think today of those who have come to our shores out of the harshness of economic necessity. I think of your families at home. I think of your separation."