List of ambassadors of the United States to Ireland

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Ambassador of the United States of America to Ireland
Ambasadóir Stáit Aontaithe Mheiriceá go hÉireann
US Department of State official seal.svg
Seal of the United States Department of State
Claire D. Cronin, U.S. Ambassador.jpg
Incumbent
Claire D. Cronin
since February 10, 2022
Residence Deerfield Residence
NominatorThe President of the United States
AppointerThe President
with Senate advice and consent
Inaugural holder Frederick A. Sterling (envoy)
George A. Garrett (amb.)
Formation1927 (envoy)
1950 (ambassador)
Website U.S. Embassy - Dublin
Embassy of the United States, Dublin U.S. Embassy Chancery Building in Ballsbridge, Dublin 4.jpg
Embassy of the United States, Dublin

The United States ambassador to Ireland is the ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary from the United States of America to Ireland. It is considered a highly prestigious position within the United States Foreign Service. The current ambassador is Claire Cronin.

Contents

The chief of mission for the United States in Ireland held the title of envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary from 1927 through 1950, and six people served in the role. [1] Since 1950, the title has been ambassador, and 23 people have served in the role. [1] Only the first envoy, Frederick A. Sterling, was a career Foreign Service Officer – other envoys, and all ambassadors to date, have been non-career appointees. [1] The first four envoys were commissioned to the Irish Free State, [1] prior to the formation of the State.

The ambassador and embassy staff at large work at the Ballsbridge Chancery of the Embassy of the United States, Dublin. [2] Deerfield Residence is the official residence of the ambassador, located in the Phoenix Park, Dublin. [3]

Incumbent

The position was vacant from January 2017 through the end of June 2019, with Reece Smyth serving as the chargé d'affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Ireland. [4] The prior ambassador, Kevin O'Malley, was nominated by President Barack Obama and served from October 2014 until the presidential inauguration of Donald Trump. In December 2016, it was reported that then president-elect Trump intended to name Brian P. Burns as the next ambassador to Ireland. [5] However, in June 2017, Burns withdrew his name from consideration, due to ill health. [6]

Edward F. Crawford, a businessman and entrepreneur from Ohio whose parents were from Cork, was approved to be the next ambassador by the Senate's foreign relations committee in May 2019, [7] confirmed by a vote of the United States Senate on June 13, 2019, [8] and sworn into office on June 26, 2019. [9] He officially began his term as ambassador upon presentation of his credentials to President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins on July 1, 2019. [10] [11]

Chiefs of mission

Envoys

Until 1950, the official title was Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary. [1]

No.NameAppointedPresentation
of credentials		Termination
of mission		Days in
office		Notes
1 Frederick A. Sterling February 19, 1927July 27, 1927March 7, 19342415 E1
2 W. W. McDowell January 15, 1934March 27, 1934April 9, 193413 E1 E2
3 Alvin Mansfield Owsley May 15, 1935June 27, 1935July 7, 1937741 E1
4 John Cudahy May 28, 1937August 23, 1937January 15, 1940875 E1
5 David Gray February 16, 1940April 15, 1940June 28, 19472630
6 George A. Garrett April 10, 1947July 28, 1947April 18, 1950995 E3
^E1 Commissioned to the Irish Free State
^E2 Died in office (while in Ireland)
^E3 Promoted to Ambassador

Ambassadors

Since 1950, the official title has been Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary. [1]

No.NameAppointedPresentation
of credentials		Termination
of mission		Days in
office		Notes
1 George A. Garrett March 17, 1950April 18, 1950May 27, 1951404
2 Francis P. Matthews July 6, 1951October 22, 1951September 7, 1952321 A1
3 William Howard Taft III April 2, 1953May 13, 1953June 25, 19571504
4 R. W. Scott McLeod May 9, 1957July 17, 1957March 15, 19611337
5 Grant Stockdale March 29, 1961May 17, 1961July 7, 1962416
6 Matthew McCloskey July 12, 1962July 19, 1962June 7, 1964689
7 Raymond R. Guest March 11, 1965April 28, 1965June 7, 19681136
8 Leo J. Sheridan September 26, 1968November 1, 1968June 1, 1969212
9 John D. J. Moore April 19, 1969June 23, 1969June 30, 19752198 A2
10 Walter Curley July 23, 1975September 18, 1975May 2, 1977592
11 William V. Shannon June 22, 1977July 20, 1977June 7, 19811418
12 Peter H. Dailey March 15, 1982April 30, 1982January 15, 1984625
13 Robert F. Kane February 28, 1984March 6, 1984May 29, 1985449
14 Margaret Heckler December 17, 1985January 30, 1986August 20, 19891298
15 Richard A. Moore August 7, 1989September 19, 1989June 15, 19921000
16 William H. G. FitzGerald June 15, 1992June 26, 1992June 5, 1993344
17 Jean Kennedy Smith June 17, 1993June 24, 1993September 17, 19981911
18 Mike Sullivan October 22, 1998January 21, 1999June 20, 2001881 A3
19 Richard Egan August 29, 2001September 10, 2001January 31, 2003508
20 James C. Kenny October 6, 2003October 31, 2003August 13, 20061017 A3
21 Thomas C. Foley August 28, 2006October 18, 2006January 22, 2009827 A3
22 Dan Rooney July 1, 2009July 3, 2009December 14, 20121260
23 Kevin O'Malley September 18, 2014October 8, 2014January 20, 2017835 A3
24 Edward F. Crawford June 13, 2019July 1, 2019January 19, 2021568 A3
25 Claire D. Cronin December 18, 2021February 10, 2022Incumbent
^A1 Died in office (while in the United States)
^A2 Interred in Ireland
^A3 Still living

Other nominees

Deerfield Residence, official residence of the Ambassador U.S. Ambassador's Residence, Phoenix Park, Dublin.jpg
Deerfield Residence, official residence of the Ambassador

Appointed or nominated, but did not serve. [1]

Appointment: September 13, 1933. Commissioned during a recess of the Senate; did not serve under this appointment. Reappointed in January 1934.
Note: Not commissioned; nomination of March 17, 1981, not acted upon by the Senate. [12]

Chargé d’affaires

Interim chiefs of mission. [1]

September 2013 – October 2014
January 2017 – June 2019
January 2021 – February 2022

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Chiefs of Mission for Ireland". history.state.gov. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  2. ↑ "Embassy History". U.S. Embassy in Ireland. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
  3. ↑ "History of Ambassador's Residence". U.S. Embassy in Ireland. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
  4. ↑ "Donald Trump is yet to select an Irish ambassador but a Texan is keeping the seat warm". TheJournal.ie . March 8, 2017. Retrieved April 14, 2017.
  5. ↑ O'Dowd, Niall (December 30, 2016). "NYT reporter tweets Trump ready to name Brian Burns as US Ambassador". Irish Central. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Irish-American withdraws as Trump's nominee for US ambassador". RTÉ . June 13, 2017. Retrieved June 20, 2017.
  7. ↑ Lynch, Suzanne (May 2, 2019). "US Senate committee approves next Irish ambassador". The Irish Times . Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  8. ↑ O'Donovan, Brian (June 13, 2019). "US Senate confirms Edward Crawford as US Ambassador to Ireland". RTÉ . Retrieved June 13, 2019.
  9. ↑ O'Donovan, Brian (June 26, 2019). "New US Ambassador to Ireland sworn into office". RTÉ . Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  10. ↑ @USEmbassyDublin (June 29, 2019). "Ambassador Designate Ed Crawford has arrived in Ireland!" (Tweet). Retrieved June 29, 2019– via Twitter.
  11. ↑ "Billionaire Irish-American takes office as US ambassador to Ireland after Áras ceremony". TheJournal.ie . July 1, 2019. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  12. ↑ "President Reagan dropping McCann nomination". The Marshfield News-Herald . Marshfield, Wisconsin. AP. August 8, 1981. p. 7. Retrieved March 20, 2018– via newspapers.com.
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