2022 GUEST OF HONOR
Kevin Byrne, Consul General
Kevin Byrne was appointed Consul General to the Midwestern United States in September 2020.
He joined the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs in 2010 and has served in EU Division, Corporate Services, and in Ireland’s Consulate in San Francisco. He also worked in the Department of the Taoiseach – Prime Minister – where he planned Ireland's successful 2013 Presidency of the European Union. Prior to taking up post in Chicago, Kevin was secretary to the Management Board of the Department and policy liaison with Áras an Uachtaráin – the office of the President.
Before joining the foreign service, Kevin worked in the European institutions in Brussels, the think tank sector in London, and taught in France and Japan.
He is a graduate of Trinity College Dublin, the London School of Economics, and a Naughton scholar. Kevin is married to his husband, Aristotle.
From his base in Chicago – a city with a strong Irish heritage - Kevin along with the Consulate team will be working to promote Ireland and Irish interests in the region and to further strengthen the links between Ireland and the Midwest.
CHICAGO WELCOMES A SPECIAL GUEST FROM IRELAND FOR THE 2022 PARADE
Patrick O'Donovan TD is Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works at the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. He was appointed to this role in July 2020.
He previously served as Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform with Special Responsibility for Public Procurement, Open Government, and eGovernment, a role to which he was appointed in June 2017. Prior to this, he was Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, from 2016 to 2017.
He was elected to Dáil Éireann in 2011 for the Limerick County Constituency, and prior to his election to the Dáil, served as a memberof Limerick County Council from 2003-2011.
He previously served as Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform with Special Responsibility for Public Procurement, Open Government, and eGovernment, a role to which he was appointed in June 2017. Prior to this, he was Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, from 2016 to 2017.
He was elected to Dáil Éireann in 2011 for the Limerick County Constituency, and prior to his election to the Dáil, served as a memberof Limerick County Council from 2003-2011.