The Ambassador of Ireland to Great Britain is Ireland's foremost

diplomatic representative Diplomacy comprises spoken or written communication by representatives of states (such as leaders and diplomats) intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. 1 ...

in the United Kingdom and is in charge of Ireland's diplomatic mission in the UK.

History

The High Commission of the Irish Free State was established shortly after Irish secession from the United Kingdom. The first High Commissioner of the Irish Free State to the United Kingdom was James McNeill, who later became the second Governor-General of the state in 1928. From 1936, the Irish government regarded the state as being no longer a member of the British Commonwealth, but rather a state associated with it. Nonetheless, the office holder retained his title. In 1937, the Irish Free State was renamed Ireland so the High Commissioner’s title was changed to High Commissioner of Ireland to the United Kingdom. The officeholder retained that title until Ireland’s last links with the Commonwealth were terminated in 1949. The High Commissioner at the time then became the Ambassador of Ireland to the United Kingdom. The Irish Foreign Ministry name their Embassy in London as the Embassy to Great Britain due to nationalist sensitivities concerning the full name "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland".

Heads of mission

High Commissioners

* James McNeill 1923–1928 * Prof. T. A. Smiddy 1929–1930 *

John Whelan Dulanty John Whelan Dulanty (1883 – February 1955) was an Irish diplomat. He represented Ireland in London for 20 years, first as High Commissioner and then as Ireland's first Ambassador to the United Kingdom. Biography Dulanty was born in Mancheste ...

1930–1949

Ambassadors

1949–1950 *

Frederick Henry Boland Frederick Henry Boland (11 January 1904 – 4 December 1985) was an Irish diplomat who served as the first Irish Ambassador to both the United Kingdom and the United Nations. Family and education Frederick Boland was born on 11 January 1904 a ...

1950–1956 *

Con Cremin Cornelius Christopher Cremin (6 December 1908 – 20 April 1987) was an Irish diplomat who was born in Kenmare, County Kerry. One of four children, Cremin was born to a family that operated a drapery business. His brother, Francis Cremin, bec ...

1956–1958 *

Hugh McCann Hugh McCann (born 6 May 1954) is a Scottish former football player and manager. McCann signed for Celtic aged 14, but a bad knee injury halted his progress there. He later played for Linlithgow Rose, Alloa Athletic, Berwick Rangers and East Sti ...

1958–1963 *

1963–1964 * Donal O'Sullivan 1970–1977 * Paul Keating 1977–1978 * Edward Kennedy 1978–1983 *

Noel Dorr Noel Dorr (born 1 November 1933, in Limerick, Ireland) is a former Irish diplomat. He has been described as "the most universally admired Irish diplomat of his generation". Biography Dorr attended St. Nathy's College in Ballaghaderreen and studi ...

1983–1987 *

Andrew O'Rourke Andrew Patrick O'Rourke (October 26, 1933 – January 3, 2013) was a judge and politician from New York State. A Republican, he served as the County Executive of Westchester County, New York from 1982 to 1997. He was the Republican candidat ...

1987–1991 * Joseph Small 1991–1995 *

Edward J. Barrington Edward is an English language, English given name. It is derived from the Old English, Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements ''wikt:ead#Old English, ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and ''wikt:weard#Old English, weard'' "gua ...

1995–2001 *

Dáithí O'Ceallaigh Dáithí, Daithí or Dathí, sometimes also anglicised without diacritics as Daithi or Dathi, is an Irish male given name which means ''swiftness'' or ''nimbleness''. It is pronounced ''Dawh-hee''. It is sometimes incorrectly used as the Irish form ...

2001–2007 *

David J. Cooney David J. Cooney (born 29 April 1954) is an Irish diplomacy, diplomat. Born in London, he holds a Bachelor of Arts, BA in Politics and History from Keele University, and has held a number of senior diplomatic posts. From 1974 until 1979 he worked i ...

2007–2009 *

Bobby McDonagh Bobby McDonagh (born 29 June 1954) is a former Irish diplomat. Biography He was educated in Gonzaga College, Dublin and graduated from Balliol College, Oxford with an Master of Arts (MA) (Greats/Classics). He was elected President of the Oxfor ...

2009–2013 * Daniel Mulhall 2013–2017 * Adrian O'Neill 2017–2022{{cite web, url=https://www.dfa.ie/irish-embassy/great-britain/about-us/ambassador/, title=Ambassador O'Neill, website= Department of Foreign Affairs, accessdate=27 July 2021, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101114430/https://www.dfa.ie/irish-embassy/great-britain/about-us/ambassador/, archive-date=1 November 2020, url-status=live * Martin Fraser 2022–present

External links

Embassy of Ireland to Great Britain: The Embassy’s History

Notes

United Kingdom * * Ireland Ireland and the Commonwealth of Nations