Permanent Mission of Ireland

Permanent Mission of Ireland to the United Nations 🇮🇪

At the Permanent Mission of Ireland we had the honor of speaking with the Alternate Political Coordinator and Spokesperson, Mr. Eoghan McSwiney. He was extremely amicable and happy to discuss Ireland’s work at the United Nations. The main focus of our discussion revolved around their current efforts in the security council. Ireland’s main interest in the security council is to connect climate issues to threats of security. In fact, this week, the council is voting on a bill regarding climate security. However, there are still nations that don’t believe climate and security should be related, which raises Ireland’s concern of a veto of the bill. Like many other nations, Ireland agrees the veto power and structure of the security council is outdated and requires reform in order to adapt to the current times. Mr. McSwiney also gave insight on a part of the Security Council we hadn’t heard about yet; the election process, which he coordinated. He described their efforts to get elected, which began fifteen years before the vote! Their campaign revolved around the values of empathy, partnership, and independence. Ireland’s powerful track record and communication with countries of all levels ultimately led to their election. We are so glad to have met with Mr. McSwiney in Ireland’s beautiful offices, and we greatly appreciate the honest and insightful discussion we had with him.