The Ambassador of
Ireland to
Canada is the head of the Embassy of Ireland,
Ottawa
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
, and the official representative of the
Government of Ireland to the
Government of Canada.
The incumbent Ambassador is
Eamonn McKee
Eamonn C. McKee is an Irish diplomat, currently ambassador to Canada, Jamaica and The Bahamas. He was formerly ambassador to Israel and South Korea.
McKee was born in Dublin. He studied at University College Dublin, and went on to receive a Ph ...
who was appointed on 13 Octobe
2020
History
In 1929, the
Irish Free State planned to open a diplomatic mission in Ottawa, but these plans were later shelved.
In 1939,
Canada and Ireland opened High Commissions in each other's capital cities. The first and only High Commissioner of Ireland to the Dominion of Canada was
John Hearne.
In 1949, the
Republic of Ireland Act 1948 came into force and Ireland became a republic, leaving the Commonwealth. In 1950, Ireland appointed its first Ambassador of Ireland to Canada, Seán Murphy, as the High Commission was also converted into an embassy.
List of representatives
High Commissioner from Ireland to Canada (1939-1949)
*1939–1949:
John Hearne
Ambassadors from Ireland to Canada (1950–present)
*1950–1955: Seán Murphy
*1955–1956: Leo McCauley
*1956–1960: Thomas Kiernan
*1960–1964: William Fay
*1964–1967:
John Aloysius Belton
John Aloysius Belton (1903–1968) was an Irish diplomat.
Details
*From 1926 to 1934 he practised laws on the Midland Circuit
*In 1934 he joined the diplomatic service of Ireland and became the first secretary to the Irish Embassy in Par ...
*1967–1970: William Warnock
*1970–1973: Joseph Shields
*1974–1978: Paddy Power
*1978–1983: Sean Kennan
*1983–1988: Sean Gaynor
*1988–1991: Edward Brennan
*1991–1995: Antóin MacUnfraidh
*1995–2001: Paul Dempsey
*2001–2006: Martin Burke
*2006–2010:
Declan Kelly
*2010–2016:
Ray Bassett
Ray Bassett is a former Irish diplomat. Bassett was born in Dublin and attended O'Connell School. He then attended Trinity College Dublin first earning a B.A. (mod) in biochemistry in 1973 and then a PhD in biochemistry in 1979. He served as an am ...
*2016–2020: Jim Kelly
*2020- : Eamonn McKee
See also
*
Canada-Ireland relations
References
{{reflist
*
Ireland and the Commonwealth of Nations
Canada
Ireland