Irish Ambassador to Great Britain

Friends, a chairde, a chàirdean còire, gyfeillion

Welcome to the website of the Embassy of Ireland in Great Britain.

I am very pleased to have taken up my post as Ambassador of Ireland to Great Britain at this time of great momentum and energy in our bilateral relationship.

Ireland and Britain are longstanding, likeminded partners and neighbours. We are inevitably linked together by our shared history and geography, our people to people connections and deep trade links, but also by our ambitious shared vision of the future, as set out in the UK-Ireland 2030 Joint Statement. Our Governments have committed to working together on key issues affecting both of our islands, such as infrastructure, energy, trade, security policy, research, and culture, to deliver tangible benefits for people, communities, and businesses right across the UK and Ireland

This builds on our shared responsibility as co-guarantors of the Good Friday Agreement, the framework for relationships across these islands, which sets out a vision for a more prosperous and peaceful future, based on cooperation, mutual respect, and trust.

These values find expression in the thriving people-to-people links between Ireland and Britain, the bedrock of our partnership. Every day, in community halls and boardrooms, in classrooms, or on the playing fields, new connections between our islands are forged and existing ones strengthened. The depth and variety of our links reflects the dynamism and diversity of the Irish community in Britain, and I look forward to getting to know many of you during my time here.

The opening of an Ireland House in London during my term will be a landmark moment. By bringing all the State Agencies in Britain under one roof for the first time, we will ensure that Team Ireland is in the best position possible to continue to strengthen our relationship with Britain in the years ahead. It is a concrete expression of the Irish Government’s enduring commitment to the British–Irish relationship and to our community here, marking the opening of a new chapter in the story of Ireland in Britain.

I look forward to leading our excellent teams in London, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Manchester and to working closely with Enterprise Ireland, the IDA, Bord Bia, and Tourism Ireland to promote the full scope of Ireland’s interests in the UK.

As always, you can connect with us through our social media platforms on Facebook, LinkedIn, Xand Instagram, where we regularly post updates on news and events from our teams across Britain.

Le meas,

Ambassador Hyland

Sonja Hyland is the Ambassador at the Embassy of Ireland in London. From 2024 – 2026, she was Deputy Secretary General, and Head of the Ireland, UK and Americas Division, in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Dublin. From 2019 – 2024, she was Political Director in DFAT, overseeing Ireland’s foreign policy priorities, including Ireland’s 2021/2022 term on the United Nations Security Council, as well as security and defence policy, Middle East and Russia/Ukraine issues.

She was Ambassador to Ethiopia, South Sudan, Djibouti, the African Union and the Inter-governmental Authority on Development (IGAD, the eight-country African trade bloc) from 2017 – 2019; and Ambassador to Mexico, Cuba, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Colombia, Venezuela and Peru from 2013 - 2017.

Her other posts since joining the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 1996 have included Director for Trade Promotion and Economic Messaging; Deputy Director for Multilateral Affairs; Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassies of Ireland in Stockholm and Madrid; and Ireland's Representative to the Political Military Group at Ireland’s Permanent Representation to the European Union in Brussels.

She received an Eisenhower Fellowship in 2019, with a focus on researching the impact of demographic change in the U.S. on current and future patterns of political representation and power. She graduated with a B.A in Politics and Development Studies from the University of Sussex in 1995 and is fluent in English and Spanish.