Press Council Chairman appointed
The Press Council of Ireland has announced the appointment of Daithi O’Ceallaigh as Chairman. He succeeds Professor Tom Mitchell, who served as Chairman since the establishment of the Council in January 2007.
A native of Dun Laoghaire, Mr O’Ceallaigh has enjoyed a distinguished diplomatic career spanning more than 35 years. Having graduated from UCD, he and his wife Antoinette spent three years as volunteer teachers in Zambia, before joining the Department of Foreign Affairs in 1973. He went on to assume posts in Moscow, London, Belfast, New York, Finland and Estonia, before serving as Ambassador to London for 6 years from 2001. He was subsequently appointed Ambassador to the UN, World Trade Organisation and the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.
In 2008, in Croke Park, he headed a small Irish team which negotiated the Convention to Prohibit Cluster Munitions which cause unacceptable harm to civilians.
Mr O’Ceallaigh retired from the Foreign Service in 2009. He is currently Director General (part time) of the Institute of International and European Affairs in Dublin.
He is married with two grown-up children.
Commenting on his appointment, Mr O’Ceallaigh said: “The level of recognition and respect which the Council has garnered among its stakeholders in a short period of time is a testament to the talents and diligence of my predecessor Tom Mitchell. I look forward to continuing his good work.”
The Press Council, through the Office of the Press Ombudsman, provides the public with an independent forum for resolving complaints against the press and seeks to maintain the high standards of Irish journalism and journalistic ethics. Currently over 200 titles subscribe to the Council’s Code of Practice for Newspapers and Periodicals through their membership of the Council.
Earlier this year the Council was given statutory recognition by the Oireachtas under the terms of the Defamation Act.
Mr O’Ceallaigh will take up office on August 1. The appointment is for a period of three years.