Ireland–South Africa relations as premature. The Irish embassy opened in Pretoria in 1994. From the early 1960s Ireland vehemently opposed apartheid in South Africa. South African Nelson Mandela, then a dissident, later president, was awarded the Freedom of the City of Dublin in 1988 while a political prisoner; he collected the award upon his release in 1990. Diplomatic ties between the two countries were established in 1994. In November 2003, Brian Cowen, while touring Africa as Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs, promised South African President Thabo Mbeki that Ireland would highlight African problems when it ascended to the Council Presidency of the European
Neopaganism in South Africa first democratic elections were held on 27 April 1994. The new Constitution provided for the right to freedom of religion, belief and opinion, paving the way for Paganism in South Africa. Early public activity included the first publication of "Penton Pagan Magazine" in December 1995, edited by Damon Leff, and the formation of the Pagan Federation of South Africa (PFSA) in June 1996, with Donna Vos elected as its first president. While the PFSA constitution took into account the principles of the UK-based Pagan Federation formed in 1971, it has never been affiliated with it, nor with the Pagan Federation