Ireland has doubled its diplomatic staff at the Atlanta consulate that handles its relationship with the Southeast U.S.
Vice Consul Eilís O’Keeffe arrived here in August, joining Consul General Shane Stephens in his outreach to seven states.
Mr. Stephens is Ireland’s second consul general at this post, which in 2012 became the first Irish diplomatic mission to open in the United States in 75 years.
For Ms. O’Keeffe, it’s the first overseas posting since joining Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 2016. She has worked in Dublin in the department’s Ireland, UK and Americas Division, supporting the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement with Northern Ireland.
She came at a typically busy time: Just after her arrival, the consulate jointly hosted a political delegation from Northern Ireland with the consulate general of the United Kingdom, marking 20 years since the Good Friday agreement with a slate of events. And since then, the consulate has been involved with events including a panel discussion celebrating the 200th of Frederick Douglass, a County Wexford delegation to Savannah, Irish Fest Atlanta and visits to Kennesaw State University and the American Jewish Committee’s Atlanta office, among other activities outlined in the consulate’s monthly newsletter.
Ms. O’Keeffe has an undergraduate degree in law and French from University College Cork and a masters in law from the University of Oxford. She’s from Dungarvan, Co. Waterford, speaks Irish (Gaelic) and is an avid reader of literature, according to a biography supplied by the consulate.
Contact the consulate here.
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