Sonya McGuinness is an Irish diplomat who succeeded

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 Colle ...

as Irish ambassador to Israel in November 2022. She presented her credentials to President

Isaac Herzog Isaac "Bougie" Herzog (; born 22 September 1960) is an Israeli politician who has been serving since 2021 as the president of Israel. He is the first president to have been born in Israel after its Declaration of Independence. Son of former Is ...

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

Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs (; ) is one of the most important Cabinet of Israel, ministries in the Government of Israel, Israeli government. The ministry's role is to implement Israel's foreign policy, and promote economic, cultural ...

following comments by then

Taoiseach The Taoiseach (, ) is the head of government or prime minister of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the President of Ireland upon nomination by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...

Leo Varadkar Leo Eric Varadkar ( ; born 18 January 1979) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 2017 to 2020 and from 2022 to 2024, as Tánaiste from 2020 to 2022, and as leader of Fine Gael from 2017 to 2024. A Teachta Dála, ...

about the safe return of 9-year old Irish-Israeli girl, Emily Hand, who had been kidnapped by

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 Hama ...

during the

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 ...

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 recognise the State of Palestine. The

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 P ...

and

Minister for Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral re ...

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, Min ...

, criticised the reprimand as "totally unacceptable". In December 2024, McGuinness responded to the closure of the Israeli embassy in Dublin, rejecting the accusation that Ireland is anti-Israel and antisemitic, and describing the depiction of Irish policy in Israel as "cartoonish".

References

Notes

External links

Ambassador of Ireland to the State of Israel
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGuinness, Sonya Irish women ambassadors Ambassadors of Ireland to Israel Ambassadors of Ireland to Turkey Year of birth missing (living people) Living people