Orla McBreen

Orla Mc Breen was elected in 2024 as National Chair of the Association for Civil and Higher Public Servants representing over 4,000 senior civil and public servants in Ireland as only the 3^rd woman to Chair the Association in 80 years. She has been a diplomat with the Department of Foreign Affairs for 25 years and is currently Deputy Ambassador at Ireland’s Embassy in London. Previously, she served as Director for Eastern Europe & Central Asia. She was Ireland’s first woman Consul General to Chicago and the US Midwest, and served at Ireland’s diplomatic missions to the UN in New York, and the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. As Civil Society Director in Irish Aid, she was responsible for the Government’s funding to international development NGOs, and also led Ireland’s third public service reform plan (2017-2020) when Head of the Public Service Reform Office at the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. Prior to joining the Department of Foreign Affairs, she taught EU policies to postgraduates at the College of Europe in both Poland and Belgium.