In his dual positions as Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach and Secretary General to the Government, John Callinan is recognised as the most influential civil servant in the country; his influence felt across all sectors of government work. One individual who works closely with Callinan has described him as ‘quietly effective’, drawing attention to his carefully detailed approach and his insistence on clarity and precision in governmental memos. Callinan has overall control of the department and monitors the key decision-making progression of the governmental operation, including weekly Cabinet meetings and all related processes.
His career, which began in Revenue and the Department of the Taoiseach, has also seen him serve the European Commission and a term at Media Lab Europe, an unsuccessful venture between the Government and MIT during Bertie Ahern’s tenure. His attachment to the department started in 2007 when he led the EU and international division.
In 2016, his promotion to the role of the department’s second secretary general saw him take on the responsibility of international, EU and UK affairs. He spent significant periods of time as the advising official – termed “sherpa” – to EU heads of government, a role which came to the forefront during Brexit negotiations. He provided counsel to both Enda Kenny and Leo Varadkar and worked in close collaboration with other EU “sherpas”. His colleagues and politicians alike regarded him as a calming influence throughout the Brexit discussions. Therefore, upon Martin Fraser’s retirement in 2022 after a ten-year term, Callinan’s subsequent appointment came as no shock.
Insiders describe Callinan’s style as subdued in comparison to Fraser’s, adding that he is mindful to respect the authority of the elected politicians. Both Varadkar and Micheál Martin have appreciated his sound counsel. Coming from a family of civil servants and growing up in North Dublin, he was a student at Trinity College. His brother Kevin currently holds the position of general secretary of the Fórsa trade union and is a former president of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.
The salary for Callinan’s position as Secretary General at level 1 is €258,825.
-Pat Leahy
Next: Robert Watt, Department of Health.
Undeniably, Robert Watt stands as one of the most conspicuous civil servants nationwide. His aptitude and capacity for his work are undeniable, though his career has not been devoid of controversy and public disagreements.
Raised in Beaumont, on the northern edge of Dublin, Watt attended Ard Scoil Rís on Griffith Avenue for secondary education, before progressing to UCD. Here, he acquired his primary degree in business studies followed by a master’s degree in economics.
Having joined the Department of Finance, Watt later transitioned to the private sector, contributing his expertise to Indecon Economic Consultants and London Economics. He returned to the department and ascended to the role of assistant secretary, where he was charged with supervising expenditure policy.
When the newly incumbent Fine Gael-Labour government divided the Department of Finance in 2011, Watt assumed the role of secretary general at the recently established Department of Public Expenditure. This new entity was crafted in response to the economic downturn to oversee government expenditure. Alongside Brendan Howlin serving as minister, Watt, as secretary general, implemented reductions in public service pay and introduced varying reforms, including changes to sick leave and holiday agreements.
Watt’s bid to assume the role of governor of the Central Bank in 2015 fell short. Yet it was his subsequent career move — or more specifically, the accompanying remuneration — that sparked heated controversy.
In 2021, it became public knowledge that the Government had sanctioned a pay increase exceeding €90,000 for the role of secretary general of the Department of Health, resulting in the appointee becoming the top earning civil servant nationwide.
Temporarily occupying the role of secretary general before successfully securing the position through open competition, Watt faced criticism from Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald, who condemned the salary hike as “a stroke”. The uproar surrounding his salary raged on for several months.
Despite this, some within the department believe Watt’s appointment proved a steadying influence during a challenging period in which they faced pressure from the Covid crisis amongst other issues. Many attribute the successful conclusion of the long-awaited new public patient-only contract for hospital consultants, a process in which Watt had a direct hand, to his stable leadership.
Watt’s interactions with politicians have not always been smooth, emphasised by confrontational appearances before the Oireachtas committee and significant discrepancies in recounts between Watt and Deirdre Gillane, an advisor to Tánaiste Micheál Martin, regarding the failed transfer of the previous chief medical officer, Dr Tony Holohan, to a role at Trinity College Dublin.
Liam Doran, former trade union leader, criticised Watt following the departure of several individuals from the advisory council overseeing the implementation of the Sláintecare health reforms. Doran suggested that Watt was dismissive and assumed those with opposing views were “entirely incorrect”. Despite these disputes, government ministers continue to strongly support Watt, who remains an integral part of the Irish public service administration. His 2021 salary, set by the government, was €297,869.
John Hogan, originally from Birr, Co Offaly, became the 18th secretary general for the Department of Finance in 2021, with a history tracing back to the establishment of the state. After completing his schooling at St Brendan’s Community School in his hometown, he commenced work with the Department of Education in 1986. He spent six years as an executive officer in the sports division, during which he completed an evening commerce degree at University College Dublin.
His career also includes tenures at the National Centre for Technology in Education and as an assistant principal officer in the Departments of Environment and Local Government and Finance, between 2000 and 2005. After a three-year posting in Brussels with Ireland’s permanent representation to the European Union, where he specialised in financial services, he returned to Dublin in 2008 to take up position within the Department of Finance. In 2009, at the height of the banking crisis, he was heavily involved in crafting key emergency banking legislation and addressing the mounting mortgage arrears issue.
In 2012, Hogan was selected to lead the department’s first banking policy wing, chosen from approximately 30 contenders. Prior to assuming the role of the department’s secretary-general, he served an assistant secretary-general in the tax division from 2017 through to 2021.
A resident of Celbridge, Co Kildare, Hogan shares his home with his wife, Theresa, three of his daughters, and a son. He indulges in running, cycling, and ardently supports the GAA, continually optimistic for an upturn in Offaly’s luck. The position of Secretary General- Level 1 earns him an annual salary of €258,825. – Joe Brennan
Graham Doyle heads the Department of Housing, as one of the rare few to rise to leadership in a government department following an external career. Doyle is a chartered accountant hailing from Waterford, trained at PwC; he entered the civil service as an external recruit in 2013. He was assigned as the assistant secretary to the Department of Transport, handling public transport, climate change, and road safety, and rose to the position of secretary-general by the end of 2015.
Upon the formation of the present government, Doyle was assigned as secretary-general of the Department of Housing in July 2020. Following his appointment, he entered a dispute regarding the specific grade of secretary-general applicable to his new role.
Last year, following an independent assessment, it was resolved to upgrade the position of secretary-general from grade II to grade I in the salary scale, bringing it into alignment with the pay grades of the Departments of the Taoiseach, Finance, and Public Expenditure.
The housing sector is the top priority for the Cabinet, and as such, a crucial part of the secretary-general’s responsibilities includes overseeing the implementation of the government’s multi-billion-euro Housing for All plan.
Doyle’s professional background extends to business management and consulting, with experiences in insolvency, corporate finance, business strategy, and airport management. He got his schooling at St Paul’s Community College in Waterford, pursued a degree in business studies from the Southeast Technical University, and holds a Master’s in accounting and an MBA from UCD. – Martin Wall
He draws an annual salary of €258,825 as the Secretary General- Level 1.
David Moloney serves at the Department of Public Expenditure.
David Moloney currently serves as the secretary general for the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform. His civil service career spans over several departments, including the Taoiseach and Health. He officially assumed his present position in the summer of 2021, having filled the role temporarily following Robert Watt’s move to the Department of Health earlier that same year.
Before stepping up as secretary general, Moloney had been the head of the labour market and enterprise division, where he managed expenditure aspects such as social protection and housing, along with enterprise and agriculture. His department’s chief duty involves scrutinising the spending proposals of other departments, an activity that some critics feel is done with inadequate consideration for the potential knock-on effects of rejecting or delaying approval of these proposals might have on the wider government. As secretary general at level 1, Moloney’s annual remuneration is €258,825.
In the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications, Oonagh Buckley plays a crucial role. She gained prominence during a contentious event in recent Irish public administration- the Government’s decision to reduce the salaries of civil and public servants to address a significant gap in the public coffers, post the 2008 austerity era.
Starting her crisis role in the Department of Finance, Buckley later moved to the newly formed Department of Public Expenditure. She was entrusted with devising emergency laws that would reduce the salaries and pensions of civil and public servants, impacting even colleagues, friends, and family members. Buckley also played an integral role in negotiations with public sector unions, which resulted in reductions in terms and conditions, but also laid groundwork for future pay restorations.
Hailing from Cork, Buckley is an alumna of UCC law school (1992), has pursued an MA in European Studies from the College of Europe (Bruges and Warsaw), and later secured a Master’s in Law, focussing on European and comparative law from University College London. She began her civil service career in the Department of Foreign Affairs, without having practised law, ahead of Ireland’s 1993 EU presidency. She was later called to the Bar in 1996.
After contributing significantly to the development of notable planning legislation in 2000 and promoting social and affordable housing, she transitioned to the Department of the Environment. She took on administrative duties at the National Parks and Wildlife Service as well. Following Kieran Mulvey’s retirement in 2016, Buckley was named his replacement at the helm of the Workplace Relations Commission. Two years later, she was entrusted with the role of deputy secretary general at the Department of Justice, overseeing civil law, immigration, courts and legislation. Come November 2022, she was appointed interim chair of An Bord Pleanála in the wake of a number of controversies. The next summer, she was announced as the new secretary general in charge of the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications by the Government. Buckley holds an MSc in Business from Smurfit School at UCD, and since 2017, she has served as an adjunct professor at UCC’s School of Law. Her salary as secretary general, level 2, is €243,600.
A study found that females are more successful in securing senior positions in the Civil Service than males.
Oonagh McPhillips, the secretary general of the Department of Justice, defies the standard image of a male, middle-aged high-ranking civil servant. A native of Dublin’s north side, McPhillips was brought up near Whitworth Road in Drumcondra and attended Holy Faith in Glasnevin. Beginning as a temporary clerical trainee in the Civil Service, a position that no longer exists, she developed a thorough understanding of positions at all levels. She returned to academics at the age of 40, earning a master’s degree in communication from Dublin City University. She accepted her latest position in 2020, becoming the first woman in the country’s history to serve in this capacity. Aside from serving as a civilian manager at the Garda Siochána and a brief tenure as an Oireachtas speechwriter, she has dedicated most of her career to the Department of Justice.
The people behind the scenes: Identifying Ireland’s political consultants and backstage experts.
In 2019, Mark Hennessy reports, she was a key member of the team that oversaw a comprehensive overhaul of one governmental department, a feat yet unmatched by any other department in Ireland. Salary: €243,600 (level 2 secretary general)
Joe Hackett, hailing from the Department of Foreign Affairs, has held the position of secretary general since 2021 after a succession of high-level diplomatic and other assignments in Belgium, the United States and his homeland – Ireland.
Born in Dublin, Hackett pursued his studies in history and politics at UCD before starting his career at the department in 1995. He completed his education at Coláiste Phádraig, a Christian Brothers’ establishment in Lucan, Dublin, where he shared a class with Kevin McCarthy, another secretary general, currently with the Department of Children.
Prior to his appointment as secretary general, Hackett had been overseeing the EU division as the director general for two years. In the past, he had served in Brussels as Ireland’s deputy permanent representative to the European Union (2017-2019) and as the permanent representative to the EU’s political and security committee (2013-2017).
Between 2009 and 2013, he held the role of director of the Irish Abroad Unit and the Global Irish Network within the department. Apart from serving as a political and press officer at the Irish Embassy in Washington DC, he took charge as the North American affairs director at Iveagh House, the department’s Dublin headquarters, in 2012 and 2013.
As secretary general, Hackett’s tenure coincided with Ireland’s stint on the UN Security Council, and he was responsible for managing Ireland’s reaction to prominent international issues, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the Gaza conflict. He is also credited with facilitating major growth in Ireland’s global diplomatic footprint, with seven additional missions being launched under his leadership.
When not dealing with political affairs, Hackett, it has been said, is passionate about football, running, all manner of sports, and walking his dogs. Soccer enthusiasts would note that he is a keen Liverpool supporter. Salary: €243,600 (level 2 secretary general).
Moving onto the Department of Social Protection, John McKeon is another high-ranking civil servant who has prior experience in the private sector.
Beginning his journey with the Department of Social Protection in 2010, he climbed up the hierarchy by embracing roles of assistant secretary general where he managed activation policies, spearheaded the development and realisation of the Pathways to Work scheme, and led the modernisation of the department’s public office services named Intreo. In 2017, he undertook the position of secretary general. His prior professional experience includes a stint at telecom giant Eircom where he held key roles like the head of global carrier services and wholesale managing director. His roots trace back to the north inner city of Dublin. His educational qualifications include a BA in Public Administration and an MBA from DCU with concentrations in finance, marketing, business strategy, HR operations, law, and economics. He further enhanced his skills by enrolling in an executive public leaders programme at Oxford University’s Blavatnik School of Government. With an annual remuneration of €243,600, he is situated at ‘secretary general – level 2’.
Brendan Gleeson, serving the Department of Agriculture, took on the role of secretary general in October 2018. He had performed many pivotal roles in the department which primarily involved responsibilities related to international trade, Brexit, Common Agricultural Policy development and specialised policy development catered to the meat and livestock sectors. He was also in charge of governance for several State agencies and was part of the Teagasc Authority and the Department of Industry and Commerce. He has held policy and operational roles for the European Commission as well. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in law management from Dublin’s Trinity College and has diplomas in Law and Public Administration. Brendan receives a salary of €243,600 and is placed in the ‘secretary general – level 2’ tier.
Declan Hughes assumed the role of secretary general at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment in May 2023. He had initially joined the department in 2014 as an assistant secretary, and later led the Strategic Policy Division. He also managed policy creation and funding programs for inward investment and enterprise innovation, as well as for indigenous enterprise, SMEs, and the entrepreneurship sector. Priorly, he was enlisted in the executive committee of Forfás, an advisory agency for enterprise, trade, science, and technology.
Hughes has been at the helm of numerous funding and policy drives at both regional and national levels. These cover such areas as ecommerce, trade, enterprise strategies, skills, and prioritising research. He has been influential in the development of regional business strategies and the Action Plan for Jobs. Moreover, he has played a key role in providing support to businesses during the Brexit transition and the Covid-19 pandemic.
Having graduated in commerce and achieved a master’s degree and postgraduate diploma from the Smurfit Graduate School of Business at UCD, Hughes has had an illustrious career. He has been a board member of renowned organisations such as IDA Ireland, Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), and Enterprise Ireland alongside being a member of the National Competitiveness Council. Additionally, he has served on both EU and OECD committees. As secretary general, his responsibilities include advising the government, leading his department, and guiding its offices and agencies in increasing employment opportunities. His annual remuneration is €243,600.
Bernie McNally, another secretary general, works for the Department of Education. She took up her position a little over two years ago. McNally, originally from Co Monaghan, earlier worked as assistant secretary at the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration, and Youth where she was responsible for the youth and disability division. Her role allowed her to work in a variety of departments and offices, which includes her tenure in the Department of Health, and her time as the director of the Office of the Ombudsman and Information Commissioner.
In the early days of her career, McNally was an occupational therapist, and eventually held the position of Director of Therapy and Social Work services at St James’s Hospital in Dublin. From 2004 to 2008, she served as an advisor in the Department of Health. McNally’s educational background is impressive with both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Trinity College Dublin. Known for effective communication, Bernie keeps abreast of emerging education issues by holding regular meetings with relevant stakeholders in the education sector. She has been applauded for ensuring young voices are incorporated in policy matters that concern them. This approach she developed while working in the Department of Children has also been implemented in the Department of Education under her leadership. Described as affable and adept at establishing connections, McNally’s integral role in the education sector involves foresight and preparedness for potentially controversial issues. Her annual remuneration stands at €243,600. Kevin McCarthy is noted as being at the Department of Children.
Kevin McCarthy, a longstanding civil servant, holds a demanding role within Irish public management, chiefly tackling immigration challenges and orchestrating HIV facilities for new arrivals. Starting his career in the Health Department, he shifted to the East Coast Area Health Board in 2000. Following that, McCarthy transitioned to the Education Department, first as a primary executive, advancing to a deputy secretary role by June 2008. By 2017, he held the top administrative post in the Department of Community and Rural Affairs, later assuming the same capacity in 2022 within the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration, and Youth.
In the 1980s, he was educated at the Christian Brothers school in Lucan, Dublin, contemporaneously with Joe Hackett, a fellow chief administrator at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As McCarthy’s department grew, his remuneration increased from €222,911 to €235,294 in the last year, following an upgrade to his role and the topmost administrative role in the Housing department by the Government. This pay rise was justified by the government as a reflection of the size of the departments these officials oversee.
Public Enterprise Minister, Paschal Donohoe, pointed out the Housing Department’s active involvement in housing provision across Ireland. Similarly, the Department of Children had taken significant strides in managing integration and inclusivity.
McCarthy reportedly shares a solid professional rapport with Roderic O’Gorman, Minister for Integration. With an influx of refugees and asylum seekers in recent years, McCarthy’s department’s work and policy-making by senior executives have naturally drawn significant attention.
Consequently, McCarthy has often been in the media spotlight, particularly during tensions with his Housing Department counterpart, Graham Doyle. In a private warning, Doyle suggested the plausible “serious risk” of large numbers of asylum seekers being left homeless after exiting the direct provision accommodation once they secured state permission to stay. In a letter to McCarthy the previous year, Doyle expressed concerns about a “new norm” of shifting the responsibility of accommodating entitled individuals to already strained homeless services. In rebuttal, McCarthy stated that individuals with granted status are “free to utilize supports available to any Irish citizen”, including emergency housing if they face homelessness.
Amidst the prevalent strain in Government offices as the Coalition seeks housing for newcomers, Ken Spratt, currently the chief civil servant from the Department of Transport, continues to show his commitment to his role. With a salary of €243,600 reflecting his Secretary General – level 2 rank, Spratt, a native of Ballymun with his roots in Finglas, has been affiliated with the Civil Service since 1986, right after finishing school at Ardscoil Rís located on Griffith Avenue, Dublin.
Spratt’s professional journey links him with current Secretary General of the government, Martin Fraser, who he worked with in his early days. His public service extends through six departments, including overseas representation as first secretary at the Irish Embassy in Washington DC and the position of Ireland’s governor in the Paris-based International Energy Agency.
He takes pride in his background as a strong Gaelic football player, having represented Dublin in national leagues during the late twentieth century and leading the famed Erin’s Isle team. His involvement with the GAA continued, even getting him shortlisted for the director general post in 2018.
Recognised for his calamity against energy infrastructure privatisation in the Department of Communications, Energy, and Natural Resources during the cost-cutting period, Spratt efficiently dealt with the intricacy of the task, evolving into an respected civil servant. Subsequently, Spratt held the assistant secretary role at the Department of Sport in 2016, skilfully handling the controversies that plagued Irish sports, including the Pat Hickey’s ticketing scandal during the Rio trip along with then minister Shane Ross.
Spratt, known for his outspokenness, directness and aversion to frivolity, is also remembered for his exceptional note-taking skills and cordial interaction with colleagues in the Department of Transport. Yet as the head civil servant, he is faced with the challenge of promoting roads in accordance with Minister Eamon Ryan’s green policies.
The same salary of €243,600 is earned by Jacqui McCrum at the level of Secretary General in the Department of Defence, as recorded by Jennifer Bray and Jack Horgan-Jones.
In 2020, Jacqui McCrum made history as the first woman to serve as secretary general in the Department of Defence. McCrum, initially from Rush, Co Dublin, attended Holy Faith in Skerries before launching her career in the banking sector. She worked extensively for AIB London, managing several branches before transitioning to the head office in 1999. Her progression through the corporate hierarchy led her to become the head of treasury business control for AIB in 2012.
The following year, McCrum ventured into the public sector, accepting the role of deputy ombudsman at the Financial Services Ombudsman’s Bureau of Ireland. Her responsibilities there included overseeing the merger with the Pensions Ombudsman’s office, along with serving as the bureau’s director for a short period. In 2015, she earned the role of director general of the Office of the Ombudsman. Around the same time, she was involved in multiple state commissions, including the Standards in Public Office and Referendum commissions.
McCrum’s career trajectory then guided her to the Department of Social Protection. After a brief stint as deputy secretary general, she got her current appointment at the Department of Defence as secretary general in 2020. Despite the limited size of Ireland’s military, considered somewhat of a Civil Service backwater, McCrum exercises a significant degree of influence. She not only advises the Minister as the chief defence adviser, along with the Defence Forces Chief of Staff, but is also the accounting officer for the department and the Defence Forces.
Though the Defence Forces Chief of Staff’s role suffers from a lack of command and control over troops due to Ireland’s unique military command structure, McCrum and other top officials in her department are the primary sources of major orders. This dynamic has created historical strain between the department and military personnel. Nonetheless, upon her appointment, McCrum was seen as a refreshing change. Vice Admiral Mark Mellett, the then-chief of staff, said post her appointment, “She has brought a perspective that in many ways is similar to mine in terms of outlook and outreach and can-do”.
McCrum has been placed in charge of administering the largest revamp the Defence Forces have seen in years, consisting of a 50% raise in expenditure by 2028, and the transition of the role of Chief of Staff to a more authoritative ‘Chief of Defence’. Tasked with an external supervisory role, she is addressing issues related to abuse, harassment and prejudice within the Defence Forces, while simultaneously spearheading efforts for cultural transformation. McCrum, her spouse Maurice and their two children reside in north Dublin. Her remuneration is set at €230,780, as she holds the position of a ‘level 3’ secretary-general.
Previously the assistant secretary in the Department of Housing, Feargal Ó Coigligh took over the mantle of secretary-general just this January. From 2015 to 2018, he held the position of assistant secretary for culture and arts, where he was responsible for projects such as the Decade of Centenaries scheme and the Ireland 2016 Centenary Programme. In his tenure, he looked after heritage policy, managing services like the National Parks and Wildlife Service. A native of Co Louth, Ó Coigligh is an alumnus of Coláiste Rís CBS in Dundalk and the University of Galway, earning an arts degree in 1989.
Ó Coigligh stepped into the shoes of Katherine Licken as the secretary-general of the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Media and Sport, following her seven-year incumbency. Licken’s departure led to a severance payout nearing €220,000. Ó Coigligh, fluent in Irish, was a noteworthy figure in Irish-language politics during his college years at the University of Galway in the late 1980s. He also actively participated in societies such as An Cumann Éigse agus Seanchais and An Cumann Drámaíochta. His appointment is widely regarded as a benefit to the Gaeltacht and Irish language sectors, which have often been overlooked by the Minister Catherine Martin and the Minister of State for Gaeltacht, Patrick O’Donovan, according to some critics. He earns the same salary as McCrum, as he is also a ‘level 3’ secretary-general.
The text ends with a mention of Mary Hurley, Department of Community and Rural Development.
Mary Hurley, originating from Santry in north Dublin, assumed the position of secretary general at the Department of Community and Rural Development in March 2022. She formerly filled the assistant secretary post at the Department of Housing, where she oversaw policy sectors such as local government, fire and emergency services, homelessness, and community and rural development. During her tenure, she was active in several departments, making substantial contributions to the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht during the 1916 commemorations. Her education includes an arts degree in English and History and a master’s degree in History from University College Dublin. She draws her civil service inspiration from her family. Her annual compensation for her new role is €230,780.
Colm O’Reardon, a noteworthy personality in government, currently serves as the secretary general for the Department of Further and Higher Education, having transitioned from being a government adviser to a high-ranking civil servant. As a part of Eamon Gilmore’s significant team when the Dún Laoghaire TD was Labour leader, O’Reardon acted as the party’s policy director. He assumed an advisory role for Gilmore when Labour formed a coalition government with Fine Gael after the 2011 general election. He later joined the European Commission’s in-house think tank, the European Political Strategy Centre, in Brussels. He was subsequently appointed to a senior position within the Department of Health via the Top Level Appointments Commission in 2015. After Jim Breslin and incoming taoiseach Simon Harris left for the newly-formed Department of Further and Higher Education in 2020, O’Reardon was made the acting secretary general of the Department of Health. Ultimately, he was assigned to his current post at the Department of Further and Higher Education in September 2023.
Having completed his D Phil in Economics at the University of Oxford, where he was also a Rhodes scholar, he is an illustrious alumnus of Trinity College Dublin, Churchill College Cambridge, and Wolfson College Oxford – so stated by Martin Wall. As secretary general at the level 3 ranking, his remuneration stands at €230,780.
Orla O’Hanrahan, who officiates as the secretary general to the office of President Michael D Higgins, has an illustrious career path. Prior to her appointment in this position in May 2021, she held the title of director general of Global Irish Services Division at the Department of Foreign Affairs. Her predecessor, the much esteemed Art O’Leary, currently serves as the chief executive of the Electoral Commission.
O’Hanrahan’s work has been closely observed by President Higgins on multiple occasions. Her role as chief of protocol for the department was instrumental in organising President Higgins’ state visit to England in 2014, which saw a royal banquet hosted by Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle. Further, during her tenure as ambassador to Greece in 2018, she accompanied President Higgins on his visit to asylum camps housing Syrian refugees.
Her affiliation with the department dates back to 1979, shortly after she acquired her degree in history and politics at TCD. At a time when the ‘Troubles’ had strained the relationship between the Irish and British governments, her first international assignment took her to London during the 1980s. Her time there saw the tension between the two governments eased somewhat with the signing of the Anglo-Irish Agreement in 1985. During this time, she met her future husband, Claude Malone, who was then the director of the Irish Centre in Camden. The couple has two matured children.
O’Hanrahan was appointed consul general in Boston after a five-year tenure as a press officer at the Paris Embassy, which came to an end in 1995. At Boston, she worked alongside deputy Joe Hackett, who currently holds the position of secretary general of the department. Her time in Boston coincided with the signing of the Belfast Agreement in 1998. She was highly admired for her approachability, efficiency, and industriousness.
In the latter part of her career, O’Hanrahan served as deputy chief of mission in Washington DC and held ambassadorial roles in Sweden and Greece. This report comes to us courtesy of Harry McGee. Like her academic counterpart, O’Hanrahan also receives a salary of €230,780 for her role as secretary general at level 3.