PRESS RELEASE

05/02/2006

The New Ireland Fund, Inc. announces appointment of new Director

Boston, Massachusetts, May 2, 2006 - The Board of Directors of The New Ireland Fund, Inc. is pleased to announce the appointment of Margaret Duffy as a director of the Fund. Ms. Duffy, retired partner at Arthur Andersen, currently serves on a number of boards including not-for-profit organizations. She has also served as a Member of the Irish American Economic Advisory Board to the Irish Prime Minister. Ms. Duffy replaces Mr. James Boyle who, for personal reasons, retired from the Board of the Fund at the end of April.

The New Ireland Fund is a closed-end diversified investment company that seeks long-term capital appreciation through investing at least 80% of its assets in a portfolio of Irish securities. The Fund, which is managed by Bank of Ireland Asset Management (U. S.) Limited, is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the trading symbol “IRL”.

For further information, please contact the Fund at (800) 468-6475.