The Ambassador of Ireland to Great Britain is

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

's foremost diplomatic representative in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and is in charge of Ireland's

diplomatic mission A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually denotes ...

in the UK.

History

The High Commission of the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State (6 December 192229 December 1937), also known by its Irish-language, Irish name ( , ), was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-ye ...

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 James McNeill (27 March 1869 – 12 December 1938) was an Ireland, Irish colonial administrator, politician, and diplomat, who served as the first High Commissioner to London and second Governor-General of the Irish Free State. Early life One ...

, 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 The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an international association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire The B ...

, 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

1923–1928 * Prof. T. A. Smiddy 1929–1930 * John Whelan Dulanty 1930–1949

Ambassadors

* John Whelan Dulanty 1949–1950 * Frederick Henry Boland 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, be ...

1956–1958 * Hugh McCann 1958–1963 *

1963–1964 * ... * Donal O'Sullivan 1970–1977 *

Paul Keating Paul John Keating (born 18 January 1944) is an Australian former politician and trade unionist who served as the 24th prime minister of Australia from 1991 to 1996. He held office as the leader of the Labor Party (ALP), having previously ser ...

1977–1978 * Eamonn Kennedy 1978–1983 * Noel Dorr 1983–1987 *

Andrew O'Rourke Andrew Patrick O'Rourke (October 26, 1933 – January 3, 2013) was an American 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 Republic ...

1987–1991 * Joseph Small 1991–1995 * Edward J. Barrington 1995–2001 *

Dáithí O'Ceallaigh Dáithí or Daithí (; ), sometimes also anglicisation (linguistics), anglicised without diacritics as Daithi, is an Irish language, Irish male given name which means ''swiftness'' or ''nimbleness''. It is sometimes translated as ''David (name), D ...

2001–2007 * David J. Cooney 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, Balliol College, Oxford with a Master of Arts (MA) (Greats/Classics). He was elect ...

2009–2013 *

Daniel Mulhall Daniel Mulhall (born 8 April 1955) is a retired Irish diplomat and a former Ambassador of Ireland to the United States. He has also been Ireland's Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Germany and Malaysia. Education Born in Waterford, Ireland, Mul ...

2013–2017 * Adrian O'Neill 2017–2022 * Martin Fraser 2022–present

External links

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

Notes

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