Honor Barbara Jones Appointment

Senate Resolution No. 2386 BY: Senator FLANAGAN COMMENDING Barbara Jones upon the occasion of her appointment as Irish Ambassador to Mexico WHEREAS, It is the custom of this Legislative Body to recognize and pay tribute to certain individuals of high standard and professionalism whose singular objective is given to serving the advancement of democracy in the world; and WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its long-standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to commend Barbara Jones upon the occasion of her appointment as Irish Ambassador to Mexico; and WHEREAS, Recently, the United States Government has approved the appointment of several overseas Ambassadors; Barbara Jones, the current Consul General in New York, will assume the role of Irish Ambassador to Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Peru and Venezuela; and WHEREAS, Barbara Jones was born in County Wexford, Ireland; she graduated with degrees in both French and History from the University College in Dublin, Ireland; she also holds her post graduate qualifications in Education from University College, and Computer Science from the National Institute of High Education from the University of Limerick; and WHEREAS, In September of 1983, Barbara Jones began her distinguished career at the Department of Foreign Affairs, working primarily on Anglo-Irish and European Union issues; and WHEREAS, From 1994-1997, Barbara Jones served as Head of the Humanitarian Aid policy; in this capacity, she traveled extensively in Africa; her overseas postings included assignments at the Consulate General of Ireland in San Francisco from 1986-1990, the Embassy at Luxembourg from 1991-1993, and as Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Ireland in London where she managed political relations and the Northern Ireland peace process; and WHEREAS, In September of 2012, Barbara Jones was appointed Joint Secretary at the British-Irish Intergovernmental Secretariat in Belfast, Ireland; two years later, she was named the Consul General of Ireland in New York; and WHEREAS, Barbara Jones also served in two additional government departments in Dublin from 1997-2002; from 1999-2002, she served as both Speech Writer and Special Advisor in the Department of the Taoiseach; prior to holding those two positions, she was seconded to the Trade Section of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, where she was instrumental in writing and developing a new long-term strategy for promoting Irish trade with both China and Asia; and WHEREAS, With her throughout have been her husband, Oliver O'Connor, and their three children, Kilian, Tadhg, and Maeve, all of whom have shown her love and support and rejoice in her many achievements; and WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body that those who enhance the quality of life in their community and have shown a long and sustained commitment to the maintenance of high standards in their profession, certainly have earned the recognition and applause of all the citizens of this great Empire State; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to commend Barbara Jones upon the occasion of her appointment as Irish Ambassador to Mexico, and to wish her great success in her new position; and be it further RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted to Barbara Jones.