New Irish Ambassador to Antigua & Barbuda

The Embassy of Ireland in Ottawa functions as representation of Ireland for Canada with secondary accreditations for 4 Caribbean nations including Jamaica, St. Lucia and The Bahamas. Antigua & Barbuda was recently added to the Embassy's secondary accreditations.

The credentials ceremony was hosted by Governor General Sir Rodney Williams at Government House in St. John’s. Present for the credentials ceremony and representing Antigua and Barbuda were Lady Sandra Williams, wife of the Governor General and Ms. Sherese George, Chief of Protocol. Ambassador Concannon was accompanied by his wife, Ms. Mary Frawley and by the Head of the Office for the Caribbean, Ms. Sharon Lennon.

The Ambassadors visit to Antigua and Barbuda included meetings with the Prime Minister and Ministers for Tourism and Investment, Education and Sport and the Permanent Secretary and Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Ambassador Concannon and the Irish delegation also met the Leader of the Opposition, the Dean of the Diplomatic Corp, the Resident British Commissioner, the UN Country Coordinator, the Senior Management team at the University of the West Indies, Five Island Campus, the Ambassador of Antigua and Barbuda to the United States, Canada and the OAS and eminent Antiguan historians, Angela Meeker and Dr. Reg Murphy. The delegation also connected with prominent members of the Antiguan-Irish diaspora.

All of the meeting levels focused on deepening the Irish-Antiguan relationship through developing enhanced cooperation in secondary and further education supports; SIDS and climate partnerships; EU and UN advocacy; tourism expertise exchange and cultural, heritage and diaspora engagement.

Our island nations have been connected for centuries, and the influence of Irish heritage was in evidence across the island – in familiar surnames and place names. Ireland looks forward to honouring these longstanding connections by bringing an exhibition entitled ‘Entangled Islands – Ireland and the Caribbean’ to Antigua and Barbuda this year. The exhibition explores the diverse roles played by Irish people across the Caribbean and recognises the contribution of the contemporary Caribbean diaspora in Ireland.

The contemporary Irish-Antiguan relationship is active and vital with a shared ambition for our bilateral relationship; for our partnerships across the and our joint work on issues of global concern on the multilateral stage.

Ireland and Antigua and Barbuda are working together on the implementation of the Government of Ireland's Strategy for Latin America and the Caribbean and Ireland's Second Strategy for Partnership for Small Island Developing States.

As large ocean nations, Ireland and Antigua and Barbuda are also working together on marine policy, climate resilience, inclusive and sustainable blue economy and ocean governance. Ambassador Concannon’s presentation of credentials represents a reflection on our ancient ties and a reinvigoration of our modern productive partnership.