Ireland will re-open embassy at the Vatican

January 21, 2014

The Irish government has announced plans to re-open its embassy at the Vatican, which was closed in 2011 at the peak of a diplomatic conflict between Dublin and the Holy See.

In November 2011 the Irish government announced that it was closing the embassy at the Vatican, justifying the move as a cost-cutting measure. The embassy was closed after Prime Minister Enda Kenny had accused the Holy See of deliberately thwarting an Irish government probe into sex-abuse allegations—a claim that drew a sharp rebuke from the Vatican.

Irish foreign minister Eamon Gilmore said that a “modest” embassy could now be maintained, apparently because of eased budgetary constraints. In announcing the re-opening of the embassy at the Vatican, he also said that Ireland would set up diplomatic posts in Bangkok, Jakarta, Zagreb, Nairobi, Hong Kong, Sao Paulo, and Austin, Texas.

 

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Further information:

• Ireland to reopen Vatican embassy (Irish Independent)
• Government re-opens ‘modest’ Vatican embassy (Irish Times)
• Irish government won't reconsider closing Vatican embassy (CWN, 2/15/12)