PRESS RELEASE

10/21/2003

New Ireland Fund Chooses Grant Thornton as Auditor

Boston, Massachusetts, October 21, 2003 - The New Ireland Fund, Inc., (the "Fund") has chosen Grant Thornton as its Auditor for the current fiscal year, which ends October 31, 2003.

Peter Hooper, Chairman of the Board, announced that the decision had been made to end the very satisfactory relationship it has had with PricewaterhouseCoopers ("PwC"), dating back to 1991, because of the recently introduced Sarbanes-Oxley legislation. The decision to change auditors was not the result of any disagreement between the Fund and PwC on any matter of accounting principles or practices, financial statement disclosure, or auditing scope or procedure.

PwC also acts as Auditor to Bank of Ireland Asset Management ("BIAM"), the Fund's investment advisor. Additionally, PwC provides substantial non-audit services to BIAM, some of which, under Sarbanes-Oxley, would need to be pre-approved by the Fund's Audit Committee. Although PwC has previously confirmed that they are independent with respect to the Fund within the meaning of the Securities Acts administered by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the requirements of the Independence Standards Board, the Audit Committee of the Fund believes that this pre-approval requirement could create unnecessary complications and risks for the Fund. In order to avoid any such situation, the Audit Committee decided to change auditors. The Board of Directors ratified this decision.

Grant Thornton, the fifth largest accounting and consulting firm in the US, was selected as Auditor based on a number of key considerations, including industry related experience, independence and commitment to client service.

The Fund is a closed end mutual fund managed by Bank of Ireland Asset Management and is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the trading symbol "IRL".

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