Sharon reveals two big projects

HELPING Ireland gain the non-permanent seat on the UN Security Seat for 2021/21 was just one of two big projects which Sharon Lennon, a Deputy Director at the Department of Foreign Affairs had on her hands this year - the other was giving birth to her first-born baby Ellie.

The Jenkinstown woman is looking forward to moving to New York with her family later this year as the Irish team at the UN prepares for the country’s two year term on the Security Council which begins in January.

A past-pupil of Bellurgan NS and The Marist, Sharon studied social science at UCD and then did a Masters in politics. She focused on the work of Louth man Frank Aiken and his term as Minister for External Affairs and his involvement with the UN.

She worked in Leinster House as a speech writer for two years and in 2007 joined the Department of Foreign Affairs.

‘Initially I was working as a press officer for Dermot Ahern when he was Minister for Foreign Affairs,’ she recalls. After two years in that role, she went to work for the UN in New York, which she describes as ‘fantastic - a dream come true.’

She was then assigned to the Irish embassy in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil, where she worked for four years, during which time President Michael D Higgins paid his first visit to Latin America. Next stop was Argentina, which, she notes ‘is home to the largest Irish diaspora that doesn’t speak English.’

‘ They take their Irishness very seriously and want to stay connected with Ireland,’ she says.

After a promotion, Sharon was asked in 2014 to open the first Irish consulate in San Paolo, the business capital of Brazil, where she worked for two and a half years. It was an exciting time as she worked with the Irish Olympic and paralympic teams who had travelled out for the 2010 Games in Rio de Janerio.

It was while in Brazil that she met her husband Tim Morris, an Australian diplomat who has since turned to journalism.

A posting back to Dublin in 2017 saw Sharon joining the team headed by Brendan Rogers that ‘worked day in, day out, long hours in the evenings and at the weekends’ to win Ireland the coveted non-permanent seat on the UN Security Counsel.

Alongside her work with the Department of Foreign Affairs, Sharon is involved in a mentoring programme, which sees her returning to her alma mater, The Marist, to talk to students about her work and to advise them on career options.

Ireland’s successful bid for the Security Council Seat was announced on June 17, exactly a month after Sharon’s baby daughter Ellie was born.