# List of ambassadors and high commissioners of Canada to Ireland

The ambassador of Canada to Ireland is the official representative of the Canadian government to the government of Ireland. The official title for the ambassador is Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Canada to Ireland. The current ambassador of Canada to Ireland is Dennis King who was appointed on the advice of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on March 3, 2025.
From 1928 to 1949, Canada sent High Commissioners to the Irish Free State, which was a fellow member of the Commonwealth and a Dominion at the time. With the passage of the Republic of Ireland Act 1948, Ireland left the Commonwealth, and Canada and Ireland have exchanged ambassadors since.
The Embassy of Canada is located at 7-8 Wilton Terrace, Dublin 2, Ireland. The ambassador lives at 22 Oakley Road, Ranelagh a rowhouse in The Triangle area.
From 1954 to 2008, the ambassador lived at Strathmore in Killiney.

## History of diplomatic relations

Diplomatic relations between Canada and Ireland was established on September 11, 1939. John Hall Kelly was appointed as Canada's first High Commissioner in Ireland on December 28, 1939. On April 17, 1949, Ireland severed its formal association with the Commonswealth, and the Canadian embassy to the newly independent Ireland was established on July 17, 1949.

## List of ambassadors of Canada to Ireland

| No. | Name | Term of office | Term of office | Term of office | Career | Prime Minister nominated by | Prime Minister nominated by | Ref. |
| No. | Name | Start date | PoC. | End date | Career | Prime Minister nominated by | Prime Minister nominated by | Ref. |
| — | High Commissioner of Canada to Ireland | High Commissioner of Canada to Ireland | High Commissioner of Canada to Ireland | High Commissioner of Canada to Ireland | High Commissioner of Canada to Ireland | High Commissioner of Canada to Ireland | High Commissioner of Canada to Ireland | |
| 1 | John Hall Kelly | December 28, 1939 | March 9, 1940 | March 9, 1941 | Non-Career | | W. L. Mackenzie King (1935–1948) | |
| 2 | John Doherty Kearney | July 31, 1941 | August 26, 1941 | | Non-Career | | W. L. Mackenzie King (1935–1948) | |
| 3 | Merchant M. Mahoney | November 19, 1945 | | May 4, 1946 | Career | | W. L. Mackenzie King (1935–1948) | |
| 4 | Edward Joseph Garland | May 4, 1946 | | March 19, 1947 | Non-Career | | W. L. Mackenzie King (1935–1948) | |
| 5 | William Ferdinand Alphonse Turgeon | October 24, 1946 | March 19, 1947 | June 30, 1949 | Non-Career | | W. L. Mackenzie King (1935–1948) | |
| — | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Canada to Ireland | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Canada to Ireland | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Canada to Ireland | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Canada to Ireland | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Canada to Ireland | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Canada to Ireland | Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Canada to Ireland | |
| – | David Moffat Johnson (Chargé d'Affaires) | July 17, 1949 | | December 1949 | Career | | Louis St. Laurent (1948–1957) | |
| 6 | William Ferdinand Alphonse Turgeon | January 23, 1950 | July 17, 1950 | April 20, 1955 | Non-Career | | Louis St. Laurent (1948–1957) | |
| – | Jean Chapdelaine (Chargé d'Affaires) | January 23, 1950 | | July 17, 1950 | Career | | Louis St. Laurent (1948–1957) | |
| 7 | Alfred Rive | August 16, 1955 | | July 7, 1963 | Career | | Louis St. Laurent (1948–1957) | |
| – | Paul Vernon McLane (Chargé d'Affaires) | July 7, 1963 | | March 29, 1965 | Career | | Lester B. Pearson (1963–1968) | |
| 8 | Evan William Thistle Gill | November 6, 1964 | March 29, 1965 | March 22, 1968 | Career | | Lester B. Pearson (1963–1968) | |
| 9 | James Joachim McCardle | October 8, 1968 | January 16, 1969 | | Career | | Pierre Elliott Trudeau (1968–1979 & 1980–1984) | |
| 10 | Harold Morton Maddick | May 25, 1972 | October 17, 1972 | August 31, 1976 | Career | | Pierre Elliott Trudeau (1968–1979 & 1980–1984) | |
| 11 | Edgar Ritchie | June 29, 1976 | October 27, 1976 | November 7, 1980 | Career | | Pierre Elliott Trudeau (1968–1979 & 1980–1984) | |
| 12 | Alan William Sullivan | February 12, 1981 | | | Career | | Pierre Elliott Trudeau (1968–1979 & 1980–1984) | |
| 13 | Edgar J. Benson | September 3, 1982 | November 25, 1982 | | Non-Career | | Pierre Elliott Trudeau (1968–1979 & 1980–1984) | |
| – | Gustav Gad Rezek (Chargé d'Affaires) | 1985 | | May 12, 1986 | Career | | Brian Mulroney (1984–1993) | |
| 14 | Dennis McDermott | January 28, 1986 | May 15, 1986 | May 24, 1989 | Non-Career | | Brian Mulroney (1984–1993) | |
| 15 | Mike Wadsworth | August 24, 1989 | October 17, 1989 | October 22, 1994 | Non-Career | | Brian Mulroney (1984–1993) | |
| 16 | Barry Michael Mawhinney | July 12, 1994 | November 4, 1994 | October 4, 1996 | Career | | Jean Chrétien (1993–2003) | |
| 17 | Michael B. Phillips | September 24, 1996 | November 5, 1996 | September 11, 1998 | Career | | Jean Chrétien (1993–2003) | |
| 18 | Ron Irwin | September 4, 1998 | September 24, 1998 | | Non-Career | | Jean Chrétien (1993–2003) | |
| – | William Gusen (Chargé d'Affaires) | October 10, 2001 | | August 1, 2002 | Career | | Jean Chrétien (1993–2003) | |
| 19 | Mark Moher | July 2, 2002 | September 10, 2002 | August 8, 2006 | Career | | Jean Chrétien (1993–2003) | |
| 20 | Chris Westdal | September 20, 2006 | October 24, 2006 | December 7, 2006 | Career | | Stephen Harper (2006–2015) | |
| – | Carl Schwenger (Chargé d'Affaires) | December 7, 2006 | | | Career | | Stephen Harper (2006–2015) | |
| 21 | Pat Binns | August 13, 2007 | October 2, 2007 | September 3, 2010 | Non-Career | | Stephen Harper (2006–2015) | |
| 22 | Loyola Hearn | November 17, 2010 | January 12, 2011 | August 26, 2014 | Non-Career | | Stephen Harper (2006–2015) | |
| 23 | Kevin Vickers | January 19, 2015 | January 21, 2015 | March 2, 2019 | Non-Career | | Stephen Harper (2006–2015) | |
| 24 | Nancy Smyth | March 23, 2021 | June 17, 2021 | | Career | | Justin Trudeau (2015–present) | |
| 25 | Dennis King | March 3, 2025 | | | Non-Career | | Justin Trudeau (2015–present) | |