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May
8, 2002
La
Salle University to Honor Irish Ambassador to
United States with Honorary Degree
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Citing
his efforts to bring peace to his native country, La Salle University
will be presenting an honorary degree to Seán O'Huiginn,
Ambassador of Ireland to the United States, at the school's
commencement on Sunday, May 12th.
"Our students began this year by witnessing the horrors
of war; now we want them to hear the words of a man who has
worked to bring peace to Northern Ireland," said University
President Brother Michael McGinniss, FSC. "At this time,
given what is happening in the world today, it is fitting that
we honor him for his efforts to resolve conflict peacefully." |
Ambassador
O'Huiginn, who joined the Irish Foreign Service in 1969, represented
the interests of his country in places as distant and diverse as
Saudi Arabia, Denmark, and Mexico. In 1997, he presented his credentials
as Ambassador of Ireland to the United States.
His
crucial work in negotiating a series of agreements--Downing Street
Declaration of 1993, and the Framework Document of 1995--led to
cease-fires by both the Irish Republican Army and loyalist paramilitaries
in Northern Ireland.
A native
of County Mayo, Ambassador O'Huiginn was educated at St. Jarlath's
College, University College Galway and the University of Bordeaux.
Other diplomatic posts include serving with the office of the Consul
General of Ireland in New York City.
From
1987 to 1990, he led the Irish team of officials assigned to the
Anglo-Irish Secretariat in Belfast (the primary day to day channel
of contact between the two governments). Between 1991 and 1997 he
was Head of the Anglo-Irish Division in Dublin.
He
and his wife Bernadette have two children.
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