The Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed the appointment of three senior Defence Forces officers as defence attachés to Ireland’s embassies in the United Kingdom, France and the United States. Lt-Col Seán O’Doherty will take up the Dublin Government’s key military-diplomatic post in London, replacing Col Pat Horgan, who completes a three-year tour this month. Commandant Siobhán Ní Bhriain becomes Ireland’s first female defence attaché in Paris, while Cmdt Brian Costello has been selected for the prestigious Washington DC posting, liaising with the Pentagon and Capitol Hill on trans-atlantic security cooperation. Defence attachés act as the State’s uniformed diplomats overseas, promoting Irish strategic interests, facilitating high-level visits, and assisting with consular crises that involve members of the Defence Forces deployed abroad or Irish citizens caught up in emergencies. The London and Paris missions are viewed as especially important because of ongoing cooperation on the Common Travel Area, joint air-defence arrangements and France’s leading role in EU Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) operations in which Irish troops participate. The promotions come as the Government finalises its next “Global Ireland” roadmap, which will expand diplomatic and trade representation to 96 missions worldwide by 2030. Officials say the attaché network is being aligned with that strategy so that military expertise is embedded where it can support the growth of Irish companies in the aerospace, cyber-security and green-tech sectors. For multinationals with Irish operations, an enhanced attaché presence means faster resolution of cross-border security clearances and smoother processing of visiting engineers and executives who require access to Ministry of Defence or NATO facilities. Companies placing staff on assignment in the UK, France or the US should brief mobile employees on the new contacts and consular support channels that will be in place by the final quarter of 2026.
Source: TheJournal.ie
