Sonya McGuinness
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Sonya McGuinness
Sonya McGuinness is an Irish diplomat who succeeded Kyle O'Sullivan as Irish ambassador to Israel in November 2022. She presented her credentials to President Isaac Herzog in September 2023. McGuinness previously served as Irish ambassador to Turkey from 2019. Career Ambassador to Israel In November 2023, McGuinness was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Israel), Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs following comments by then Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar about the safe return of 9-year old Irish-Israeli girl, Emily Hand, who had been kidnapped by Hamas during the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel and held hostage. In May 2024, she was again summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, along with the ambassadors of Spain and Norway, where she was reprimanded over Ireland's decision to International recognition of the State of Palestine, recognise the State of Palestine. The Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Micheál Martin, c ...
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Kyle O'Sullivan
Kyle O'Sullivan is an Irish diplomat who is currently head of the Africa Unit at Irish Aid. His previous post was as Irish ambassador to Israel. Early life and education O'Sullivan was born in Dublin, Ireland. He was educated at Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin. Career O'Sullivan joined the Department of Foreign Affairs in 1993 after working for some years in Hong Kong. Before becoming ambassador to Israel served as Consular Director at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Dublin. Before that he held two ambassadorial postings in Nigeria and Indonesia and a period as Director for EU Policy in the office of the Taoiseach (Prime Minister). He has also served in other posts at home and abroad. Ambassador to Nigeria O'Sullivan served as Ireland's ambassador to Nigeria from 2007 to 2010. Ambassador to Indonesia O'Sullivan became Ireland's first ambassador to Indonesia in 2014 and served there until 2018 when he was succeeded by Olivia Leslie. O'Sull ...
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International Recognition Of The State Of Palestine
As of March 2025, the State of Palestine is recognized as a sovereign state by 147 of the 193 member states of the United Nations, or just over 75% of all UN members. It has been a non-member observer state of the United Nations General Assembly since November 2012. This limited status is largely due to the fact that the United States, a permanent member of the UN Security Council with veto power, has consistently used its veto or threatened to do so to block Palestine's full UN membership. The State of Palestine had been officially declared by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) on 15 November 1988, claiming sovereignty over the internationally recognized Palestinian territories: the West Bank, which includes East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. By the end of 1988, the Palestinian state was recognized by 78 countries. In an attempt to solve the decades-long Israeli–Palestinian conflict, the Oslo Accords were signed between Israel and the PLO in 1993 and 199 ...
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Ambassadors Of Ireland To Turkey
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 sovereign or appointed for a special and often temporary diplomatic assignment. The word is also used informally for people who are known, without national appointment, to represent certain professions, activities, and fields of endeavor, such as sales. An ambassador is the ranking government representative stationed in a foreign capital or country. The host country typically allows the ambassador control of specific territory called an embassy (which may include an official residence and an office, chancery, located together or separately, generally in the host nation's capital), whose territory, staff, and vehicles are generally afforded diplomatic immunity in the host country. Under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, an ambass ...
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Irish Women Ambassadors
Irish commonly refers to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the island and the sovereign state *** Erse (other), Scots language name for the Irish language or Irish people ** Republic of Ireland, a sovereign state ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland * Irish language, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family spoken in Ireland * Irish English, set of dialects of the English language native to Ireland * Irish people, people of Irish ethnicity Irish may also refer to: Places * Irish Creek (Kansas), a stream in Kansas * Irish Creek (South Dakota), a stream in South Dakota * Irish Lake, Watonwan County, Minnesota * Irish Sea, the body of water which separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain People * Irish (surname), a list of people * William Irish, pse ...
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Micheál Martin
Micheál Martin (; born 16 August 1960) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician serving as Taoiseach since January 2025, having previously held the position from 2020 to 2022. Martin served as Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence (Ireland), Minister for Defence from December 2022 to January 2025. He has been leader of Fianna Fáil since January 2011 and a Teachta Dála, TD for Cork South-Central (Dáil constituency), Cork South-Central since 1989. He previously served as Leader of the Opposition (Ireland), Leader of the Opposition from 2011 to 2020 and held various cabinet offices under Bertie Ahern and Brian Cowen. Born in Cork (city), Cork, Martin initially worked as a teacher before entering politics. He was elected to Cork City Council in 1985, and served as Lord Mayor of Cork from 1992 to 1993. In 1989 Irish general election, 1989, he was first elected to Dáil Éireann for Cork South-Central, a seat he has re ...
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Minister For Foreign Affairs And Trade
The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade () is a senior minister in the Government of Ireland and leads the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The Minister's office is located at Iveagh House, on St Stephen's Green in Dublin; "Iveagh House" is often used as a metonym for the department as a whole. From 1922 until 1971, the title of the office was Minister for External Affairs. The office holder is Simon Harris, TD. He is also Minister for Defence. He is assisted by: * Thomas Byrne, TD – Minister of State for European Affairs * Neale Richmond, TD – Minister of State for International Development and Diaspora Prominent ministers Over the years a number of ministers have redefined Ireland's relationship with the United Kingdom and have allowed Ireland to join and take a prominent role in organisations such as the European Union and the United Nations. These include: *Éamon de Valera – as the longest-serving Minister for External Affairs, de Valera served as P ...
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Tánaiste
The Tánaiste ( , ) is the second-ranking member of the government of Ireland and the holder of its second-most senior office. It is the equivalent of the deputy prime minister in other parliamentary systems. The Tánaiste is appointed by the President of Ireland on the advice of the Taoiseach. The current office holder is Simon Harris, TD, who was appointed on 23 January 2025. History Under the Gaelic system of tanistry, the word (plural , , approximately ) had been used for the heir of the chief () or king (). The word was adopted in the 1937 Constitution of Ireland as the title for a member of the government nominated by the Taoiseach to act in their place as needed during periods of the Taoiseach's temporary absence. Tánaiste is the official title of the deputy head of government in both English and Irish, and is not used for other countries' deputy prime ministers, who are referred to in Irish by the generic term , , approximately . The longer Irish form, , is sometim ...
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The Irish Times
''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading newspaper. It is considered a newspaper of record for Ireland. Though formed as a Protestant Irish nationalist paper, within two decades and under new owners, it became a supporter of unionism in Ireland. In the 21st century, it presents itself politically as "liberal and progressive", as well as being centre-right on economic issues. The editorship of the newspaper from 1859 until 1986 was controlled by the Anglo-Irish Protestant minority, only gaining its first nominal Irish Catholic editor 127 years into its existence. The paper's notable columnists have included writer and arts commentator Fintan O'Toole and satirist Miriam Lord. The late Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald was once a columnist. Michael O'Regan was the Leinster Ho ...
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Michael D Higgins
Michael Daniel Higgins (; born 18 April 1941) is an Irish politician, poet, broadcaster, and sociologist who has been serving as the president of Ireland since 2011. Entering national politics through the Labour Party, he served as a senator from 1973 to 1977 having been nominated by the Taoiseach. Elected in 1981 as a Teachta Dála (TD), he represented the Galway West constituency from 1981 to 1982 and 1987 to 2011. Between these terms, he returned to Seanad Éireann from 1983 to 1987 as a senator for the National University. He served as minister for arts, culture and the Gaeltacht from 1993 to 1997 and mayor of Galway from 1981 to 1982 and 1990 to 1991. Higgins was the president of the Labour Party from 2003 to 2011, until he resigned following his election as president of Ireland. Higgins has used his time in office as president to address issues concerning justice, social equality, social inclusion, anti-sectarianism, anti-racism, and reconciliation. He made the fi ...
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October 7 Hamas-led Attack On Israel
On October 7, 2023, Hamas and several other Palestinian militant groups launched coordinated armed incursions from the Gaza Strip into the Gaza envelope of southern Israel, the first invasion of Israeli territory since the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. The attacks, launched on the Jewish holiday Simchat Torah, initiated the ongoing Gaza war. The attacks began with a barrage of at least 4,300 rockets launched into Israel and vehicle-transported and powered paraglider incursions into Israel. Hamas militants breached the Gaza–Israel barrier, attacking military bases and massacring civilians in 21 communities, including Be'eri, Kfar Aza, Nir Oz, Netiv Haasara, and Alumim. According to an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) report that revised the estimate on the number of attackers, 6,000 Gazans breached the border in 119 locations into Israel, including 3,800 from the elite " Nukhba forces" and 2,200 civilians and other militants. Additionally, the IDF report estimated 1,000 Gazans fi ...
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Hamas
The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hamas, governed the Israeli-occupied territories, Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip since 2007. The Hamas movement was founded by Palestinian Islamic scholar Ahmed Yassin in 1987, after the outbreak of the First Intifada against the Israeli occupied territories, Israeli occupation. It emerged from his 1973 Mujama al-Islamiya Islamic charity affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood. In the 2006 2006 Palestinian legislative election, Palestinian legislative election, Hamas secured a majority in the Palestinian Legislative Council by campaigning on promises of a corruption-free government and advocating for resistance as a means to liberate Palestine from Israeli occupation. In the Battle of Gaza (2007), Battle of Gaza, Hamas seized control of the Gaza S ...
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