Emma Madigan

Emma Madigan (born 6 July 1973) is an Irish diplomat and serves as the current Ambassador of Republic of Ireland to the Holy See, the first woman ever to hold the position.^[1]

Early life and education

Madigan attended University College Dublin earning a BA in History and Italian in 1995. She remained at UCD and earned an MA in European Studies in 1996.^[2]

Career

Madigan joined the diplomatic service and was Third Secretary from 2000-2002. She went on to serve as vice consul to the Consulate-General in New York from August 2000 until 2005. She was appointed First Secretary and returned to Dublin in 2006 remaining until 2008. She returned to the United States as First Secretary at the Consulates General in New York, Boston and Chicago from 2009-August 2012. In September 2012 she was appointed Deputy Head of Protcol and assisted in the visit of President Higgins to the United Kingdom.^[3]

She was appointed as the Ambassador of Ireland to the Holy See after the re-opening of the residential embassy. The announcement of her appointment to the "prestigious position"^[4] came a week after the Irish Prime Minister visited the Vatican for the joint canonization of Popes John Paul II and John XXIII and invited the Pope Francis to visit Ireland. The Vatican quickly welcomed her, in a sign interpreted as interest in thawing the relationship with Ireland. Madigan's predecessor, David Cooney, had to wait several months before meeting Pope Benedict XVI.^[5]Madigan presented her Letters of Credence to Pope Francis on 11 November 2014.^[6][7]

Madigan described her welcome as “a great experience”: “I was received very warmly by Pope Francis although the ceremony itself around the credentials was formal, the discussion itself was informal and it was a very relaxed conversation”. The Ambassador says that this conversation “covered many things. We spoke of priorities that are very dear to Ireland such as our development program, our concern regarding the plight of Christians and other religious minorities in the world today. I was able to update Pope Francis on talks in Northern Ireland and of course on recent developments in Ireland more broadly”.

Ambassador Madigan said Pope Francis “responded very well to the updates I was giving him and expressed very warm interest in our development program, which perhaps in many ways chimes with his own messages in ensuring that the vulnerable and marginalized are not left behind”.^[8]

Personal

Madigan is married and has one son. She speaks English, Irish (Gaelic) and Italian.

Appointment

References