H.E. Michael Collins
Ambassador of Ireland to the United States
Monday, May 21, 2012, 12:30-1:30 p.m.
Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice Room AB
RSVPs preferred at www.sandiego.kintera.org/irishambassador
Sponsored by The Irish Network of San Diego, Frances G. Harpst Center for Catholic Thought and Culture,
Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies, and the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice.
Click here for a printable flyer
Ambassador Collins was closely involved with the Northern Ireland Peace Process and will reflect on its enduring legacy and challenges ahead.
Biography: Michael Collins has served as Ireland’s ambassador to the United States since August 14, 2007.
Born in Dublin June 25, 1953, he earned a BSc from Trinity College, Dublin in 1978, and
attended Blackrock College’s Institute of Public Administration.
Collins entered the Department of Foreign Affairs as a third secretary on March 1, 1974. He served
at Ireland’s Embassy in Rome (1975) before being promoted to first secretary at headquarters
(Anglo-Irish Division) in 1977. He also served at the Consulate General of Ireland in New York
(1982) and at headquarters’ political division in 1986.
In 1990, Collins was made counselor. He served in the Anglo-Irish Division at headquarters, and in
the agency’s press section, both in 1990. In 1993, he was transferred to the Irish embassy in
Washington, DC, before becoming Ireland’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman,
Qatar and the United Emirates in 1995.
In 1999, Collins was made Ireland’s Ambassador to the Czech Republic and Ukraine. In 2001, he
became second secretary general, Department of the Taoiseach, with responsibility for international
and European Union affairs and particularly the Northern Ireland Peace Process. He remained in
this post until his appointment as Ambassador to the United States. Collins speaks Italian and
French.
