New Ireland Ambassador John Concannon meets Antigua & Barbuda governor general and PM Browne

Ireland’s new ambassador to Antigua and Barbuda, John Concannon on Monday, January 27, 2025, presented his credentials to Sir Rodney Williams, governor-general of the host nation, formally establishing his role. The event, which took place at the Government House in St. John’s, where the two leaders discussed strong diplomatic ties between the two nations. 

Concannon is also Ireland’s ambassador to Canada and is based in Ottawa. He will represent Ireland in Jamaica and The Bahamas besides Antigua and Barbuda.

Speaking on the occasion, Sir Williams highlighted the ongoing commitment to enhance cooperation further in areas trade, education and cultural exchange between Antigua and Barbuda and Ireland. 

Expressing hope that the relation will continue to become stronger, the Antiguan and Barbudan governor-general touched upon the issue of blue economy which the Caribbean island-nation is aiming to develop. He hoped that Ireland would assist Antigua and Barbuda in the formation of the new Centre for Oceanography and the Blue Economy at the University of the West Indies Five Islands Campus, which will be beneficial for all. A memorandum of understanding was signed in January 2021 for the same.  

Ambassador Concannon meets Prime Minister Browne

The top diplomat also met Prime Minister Gaston Browne and spoke on various issues and areas of cooperation. The PM, who extended his government’s warm welcome to Concannon, his wife Mary and other delegates of the Irish team, expressed hope about continued friendship and collaboration between St. John’s and Dublin. 

PM Browne told Ambassador Concannon, “Your appointment signals a heightened level of cooperation between both our countries. We have enjoyed good relations over several decades. Your country has assisted us to build capacity in a number of areas and given support in many initiatives, most recent of which was the SIDS (Small Island Developing States) Initiative in which Ireland was single largest donor. we are very grateful. we look forward to continued collaboration between both our countries.”

Ireland’s historical Caribbean connection

PM Browne also said that Ireland has centuries-old shared history with the Caribbean region, including Antigua and Barbuda. He mentioned that places such as Antigua and Barbuda, Montserrat and others in the Caribbean have quite a significant Irish population. 

“Many of us can boast some Irish roots,” he said, adding that there was a family called The Lakes who came to the Caribbean from Ireland and had their roots in several Caribbean countries and territories. He also said jokingly that he too has an “eternal” grandmother who is a Lake. 

Hailing the people-to-people connections between Antigua and Barbuda and Ireland, PM Browne said the two countries can further those connections to deepen their collaboration and that the Caribbean nation will bank on Ireland to increase the level of cooperation.

PM Browne seeks Ireland’s help in several areas 

PM Browne also said that the two sides continue to collaborate on many key issues, including climate, on international platforms. “We have also advocated for Ireland assisting us with many issues in the Caribbean – not only climate but also de-risking which has been a major issue for us,” he said. 

PM Browne also mentioned about classification of many Caribbean countries as non-cooperative jurisdictions by the European Union affecting Antigua and Barbuda and sought Ireland’s help to address these issues which he termed as “existential threats” not just for Antigua and Barbuda but other Caribbean countries as well.   

The prime minister also thanked the ambassador for his country’s support to the island-nation in areas such as training and capacity building. He sought more educational collaborations and enhancement of scholarships for students in Antigua and Barbuda to study in Irish institutes besides cooperation in the enhancement of trade between the two countries. 

PM Browne wished Concannon a successful tenure. 

Ambassador Concannon speaks

The Irish ambassador expressed enthusiasm about working closely with the government and people of Antigua and Barbuda. He said Ireland considers its relationship with Antigua and Barbuda as an important one. Concannon said Ireland and Antigua and Barbuda have had informal diplomatic ties for the last 25 years but in the past few years, Ireland has put a special focus on the Caribbean island-nations including Antigua and Barbuda under its ‘Global Ireland’ foreign policy.

He thanked the SIDS countries for extending support to its campaign to have a seat in the United Nations Security Council and sought to take positive action on areas affecting them. He said Dublin has accordingly launched a specific strategy for the SIDS nations under its expanded foreign policy approach and also opened an office to coordinate proceedings. 

Concannon mentioned in this regard some major conferences related to the SIDS and the Caribbean region held in the past two years, including the International Conference on Small Island Developing States in Antigua and Barbuda in 2024 and the Ireland-Latin America and the Caribbean Business and Economic Forum in Ireland in 2023. 

He said as the new ambassador of Ireland to Antigua and Barbuda, his role will be to work with the host nation’s government and people on developing the friendly relations further. He also mentioned that an exhibition named ‘Entangled Islands’ will be launched later in 2025 to tell the story of Ireland in the Caribbean, adding that it might include a panel around the Lake family that Browne mentioned, leaving everybody amused. 

Concannon reached Antigua and Barbuda with Mary on January 24. He said they found the country and the people fabulous.