Eoin MacWhite (1923–1972) was an
Irish diplomat
A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...
,
archaeologist
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
, and
scholar.
Birth
He was born in
Geneva where his father,
Michael MacWhite
Michael MacWhite (1883 – 1958) was an Irish diplomat. He was born in Reenogreena, near Glandore, County Cork in 1883. Amongst other postings, he served as the first Irish permanent delegate to the League of Nations.
Early career
MacWhite work ...
, was serving as a member of the delegation chosen to represent the newly independent
Irish Free State. At the time, the Irish were applying to join the
League of Nations. Eoin MacWhite was born on the same day that the Irish Free State's application for membership was approved. His birth coincided with a tragic event for the MacWhite family. On the very day he was born, his infant sister died suddenly. Each member of the Irish delegation attended the infant's funeral in Geneva.
Education and career
He attended
University College Dublin from 1940, ultimately earning a PhD in Archaeology. His important contributions to archaeology included work on Irish rock art and the Iberian
Bronze Age. He joined the Irish diplomatic service and rose to the rank of
ambassador
An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...
, representing his country first at that rank in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and subsequently the
Netherlands.
Death
He was killed in a
car accident in 1972.
[The Irish Times (1972) MacWhite: A Noted Scholar, Linguist, Distinguished diplomate dies in Car Crash at the Hague. August 1. Page 9]
References
1972 deaths
1923 births
20th-century Irish archaeologists
Irish expatriates in Switzerland
Ambassadors of Ireland to the Netherlands
Alumni of University College Dublin
Ambassadors of Ireland to Australia
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