He has served as Irish Ambassador to India, the Holy See, Finland, Russia and the OSCE (Russia, 2009–2013; OSCE, 2013–2017). Prior to these appointments, he was privileged to play a part in the Northern Ireland peace process.He is delighted to have the opportunity, as Senior Fellow, to contribute to the forward-looking research and teaching carried out at the Kennedy Institute.
Over many years, one of his main interests has been interpreting the Irish peace process—helping colleagues and partners in other contexts to draw encouragement and lessons from the changes on the island of Ireland and in Irish-British relations. He has been closely involved in joint Irish/British initiatives concerning Kashmir and Sri Lanka. Within the OSCE, he contributed to presenting the Irish peace process to a European audience in the context of the so-called “protracted conflicts.” More recently, he has been engaged in lesson-sharing initiatives in Korea and in a project on the ground in the Palestinian territories.
