Honourable Adviser
Lithuanian Chamber of Commerce in Ireland
Served as Ambassador of Ireland to Finland and Lithuania & Belarus, and as Consul General, San Francisco. Established two Irish diplomatic missions, Lithuania (2005) and Zambia (1980). Over 40 years of experience in European Union affairs.
Dónal joined the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs in 1974. He has extensive experience in the areas of economic policy formulation and trade promotion, of human rights and of humanitarian and development issues. Dónal was the first Irish diplomat to serve in Zambia where he oversaw the launch and expansion of the Irish Government’s bilateral aid programme. During the period 1990 to 1997, he achieved a number of significant advances in Ireland’s human rights track record and was closely associated in the selection of Mary Robinson as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. From 1997 to 2001, Dónal served on secondment from the Department of Foreign Affairs to the Irish Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and was actively engaged in policy initiatives leading to the improvement of Irish economic performance.
Dónal was posted as Irish Consul General to the western United States in November 2001. In 2005 he was appointed Ireland’s first resident Ambassador to Lithuania & Belarus and in 2013 he became Ambassador to Finland.
Dónal retired in 2015 and is now a mentor, consultant and initiator. He is a founder and facilitator of three U3A groups with over 360 members. He is also a former Board member of the European Movement.
Career Highlights
- Served as Ambassador of Ireland to Finland and Lithuania & Belarus, and as Consul General, San Francisco. Established two Irish diplomatic missions, Lithuania (2005) and Zambia (1980). Over 40 years of experience in European Union affairs.
- Government service in mainstream economic ministry and in foreign postings to Geneva, Washington, Brussels, Lusaka and Paris and including multilateral diplomacy in the context of the United Nations, WHO, ILO, World Bank, IMF, European Union (all 7 presidencies since 1975), humanitarian institutions, the International Red Cross and non-governmental organisations. In 2018 he became the Honorable adviser of Lithuanian Chamber of Commerce in Ireland .
Relevant Education
BA (Mod) History and Political Science – (Trinity college Dublin, 1974)
Publications
- ‘EU Benchmarking’, Overview, April 1999.
- ‘First National Report on Civil & Political Rights’, DFA, 1993
lithuania@chamber.ie
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