List of ambassadors of Ireland to the United Kingdom

Ambassador of Ireland to Great Britain
Coat of Arms of Ireland
Incumbent Martin Fraser since August 2022
Style	His Excellency
Inaugural holder	James McNeill First High Commissioner John Whelan Dulanty First Ambassador
Formation	1923 High Commissioner 1949 Ambassador extraordinary
Website	Embassy of Ireland, Great Britain

The Ambassador of Ireland to Great Britain is Ireland's foremost diplomatic representative 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.^[1] 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.^[2] 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.^[3] 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".^[4]

Heads of mission

High Commissioners

James McNeill 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 1956–1958
Hugh McCann 1958–1963
Con Cremin 1963–1964
Donal O'Sullivan 1970–1977
Paul Keating 1977–1978
Edward Kennedy 1978–1983
Noel Dorr 1983–1987
Andrew O'Rourke 1987–1991
Joseph Small 1991–1995
Edward J. Barrington 1995–2001
Dáithí O'Ceallaigh 2001–2007
David J. Cooney 2007–2009
Bobby McDonagh 2009–2013
Daniel Mulhall 2013–2017
Adrian O'Neill 2017–2022^[5]
Martin Fraser 2022–present

External links

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

Notes

^ Documents on Irish Foreign Policy: 1939–1941, Department of Foreign Affairs, Royal Irish Academy, 2008, page xix
^ The Embassy’s History, Embassy of Ireland, Great Britain, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
^ The captive dominion: imperial realities behind Irish diplomacy, 1922—49, Donal Lowry, Irish Historical Studies, Vol. 36, No. 142, Ireland and the British Empire-Commonwealth (November 2008), pp. 202-226
^ [https://protect-eu.mimecast.com/s/nX0MCP73vFLpZw5h1Chc0?domain=urldefense.com / Embassy of Ireland, Great Britain, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
^ "Ambassador O'Neill". Department of Foreign Affairs. Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 27 July 2021.