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This St. Patrick’s Day, let’s not forget what this holiday is really all about: what Irish CFOs have to say about the evolving obligations of the top finance seat in a volatile world, obviously.

What did you think we were going to say?

In a timely March 12 release, EY shared findings from a poll of 200 senior finance leaders in Ireland, conducted between December 2025 and January 2026.

And over on the Emerald Isle at the start of the year, CFOs were feeling mighty confident about the year ahead.

Almost all (94%) of the respondents said they expected growth as their organizations entered 2026.

“Expected growth averages out at 9%, consistent with last year,” the report’s authors wrote. “This is likely at least partly a reflection of the continuing strength and resilience of the Irish economy, and the success of Ireland-based organizations in diversifying markets in the face of US tariffs and other trade disruptions.”

The Central Bank of Ireland estimated the country’s GDP grew nearly 13% last year. “A large increase in pharmaceutical exports…contributed to double-digit GDP growth in the first three quarters of 2025,” it said.

Optimism varied little across organization size, though the finance leaders of the largest organizations polled (those with over 250 employees) expected average growth of 6%, per the report. “This likely reflects their greater exposure to export markets,” the report’s authors noted.

“Geopolitical and tariff-related concerns ranked unexpectedly low among respondents, with 60% reporting no change in strategy” as a result of global volatility, per the report.

Domestic first. Only 8% of respondents ranked “geopolitical risks and market volatility” as top concerns raised by boards or investors, while just 5% said the same about supply chain resilience.

It’s not that global volatility has no resonance; it’s that other concerns took precedence; 70% of respondents cited energy costs as a key concern and 51% said the same about inflation. (Again, this was in December and January.)

At larger organizations, 47% of finance leaders said geopolitical risks were key concerns, and 37% said the same of tariff and trade policies. But “these concerns have not resulted in significant changes in strategic direction, with 80% reporting that their existing strategy has remained intact,” the report said.

“Despite geopolitical uncertainties, organizations are maintaining their strategic course and not making reactive changes to their supply chains or established production arrangements,” Danny Buckley, partner with EY Ireland’s financial services CFO advisory team, said in a release.

“They have invested time and resources in developing their current strategies and approaches which have proven effective over time and sudden changes could send the wrong message to the market,” he continued.