The Embassy’s History

Find out more about the Embassy in Ankara.

Ireland first established diplomatic relations with Turkey on a non-resident basis in 1974 and was one of the last European states to do so. A resident embassy in Ankara, which was also accredited to Azerbaijan, was opened in 1999. Since the closure of the Embassy of Ireland in Tehran in 2012, the mission in Ankara has taken on additional concurrent accreditations to Iran and Pakistan.

Previous Ambassadors include:

• Ambassador Antoin MacUnfraidh: 1999-2002
• Ambassador Sean Whelan: 2002 - 2004
• Ambassador Anthony Mannix: 2005 - 2009
• Ambassador Tom Russell: 2009 - 2012
• Ambassador Kenneth Thompson: 2012 - 2015
• Ambassador Brendan Ward: 2015 - 2019
• Ambassador Sonya McGuinness: 2019 -