The Department of Foreign Affairs has appointed Emma Madigan as Ireland’s new ambassador to the Holy See.

Ms Madigan is currently Assistant Chief of Protocol and has served in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for 14 years.

During her time in the Department she has served as Vice Consul in New York, Private Secretary to the Secretary General and Deputy Director of Europe & UN Coordination Section. She has a degree in History and Italian and a Masters in European Studies from UCD. 

The Department also announced today the appointment of 36 Ambassadors and Consuls-General. Geraldine Byrne-Nason, the Second Secretary-General at the Department of the Taoiseach is set to become Ambassador to France. The current Ambassador to France, Rory Montgomery, will replace her in the Department of the Taoiseach.

A number of appointments are to new positions such as Ambassador to Croatia, the Holy See, Indonesia, Kenya, Sierra Leone and Thailand. Nominations of Ambassadors are subject to the approval of the  authorities of the receiving States.