Irish Consulate General Sarah Kavanagh visited Eckerd College on Nov. 3 to address students on public diplomacy and other aspects of her role. Photo by Madison Devore ’25
Ireland established its first-ever Consulate General in Florida in 2022, with Consul General Sarah Kavanagh leading the mission. Kavanagh visited Eckerd’s campus on Nov. 3 to discuss her career in public diplomacy and fostering cross-cultural connections.
Today, 32 million Americans report having Irish heritage, Kavanagh says, detailing the long history between Ireland and the U.S. She is based in Miami and represents Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands. Kavanagh works toward Ireland’s commitment to strengthening economic, political, cultural and community relationships.
“People-to-people links have always been really important between Ireland and the U.S. and I see visiting colleges and universities as part of continuing that legacy,” Kavanagh says.
But her path wasn’t always so clear.
Prior to her current role, she earned a bachelor’s degree in history and politics, several master’s degrees and a Barrister-at-Law degree. Her past roles include working for the Parliament of Ireland, being Special Adviser to the Minister for Justice and Equality, and Deputy Director for the Human Rights Unit of the Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin. For much of her life, she had no idea what diplomats did.
(L to R) Ethan McCarron, Rosie Nelson and Sarah Kavanagh post with a banner promoting the Irish Consulate in Florida. Photo provided by Rosie Nelson.
“If you’ve never met a judge or a lawyer, or you’ve never met a diplomat, it wouldn’t even cross your mind that this is a possible career path,” Kavanagh says.
Consulates focus primarily on providing services to their country’s citizens in the host country, such as helping with legal and administrative matters or providing assistance during emergencies. They may also promote trade and economic relations between the two countries. An embassy is the main diplomatic mission of one country in another country’s capital city. It represents the sending country’s government and maintains political, economic and cultural relationships between two nations.
Ethan McCarron, a Study USA student from Monaghan, Ireland, is studying film at Eckerd this academic year and had the opportunity to connect with Kavanagh during her visit. Study USA is a Northern Irish program with over 140 partner colleges. If a student is accepted, the organization decides where they study.
“I didn’t pick Eckerd, but I feel as if I won the lotto being sent here,” Ethan says. “Everyone has been very welcoming and very keen to learn about Irish culture and customs.”
Sarah Kavanagh was appointed Consul General of Ireland in Miami ins 2022. Photo my Madison Devore ’25
Ethan says that Kavanagh is everything you would expect from an Irish person, being extremely friendly, chatty, and funny.
“I was very grateful for the opportunity to meet a government official, but even more grateful when I discovered that beneath the title, she was just an Irish person, the same as me. This was best demonstrated when she invited me to visit the Consulate in Miami so that we could have a cup of tea together,” he says.
Kavanagh’s talk at Eckerd was hosted by the Risser Center for Global Education. Kavanagh discussed her journey to diplomacy and what a diplomat actually does before taking student questions.
She encouraged students to consider studying abroad or a working holiday authorisation, which allows American citizens who are college students or graduated within the last year to live and work in Ireland.
“I think anybody here who has the opportunity to study abroad should. I’ve never heard of somebody regretting it. In fact, most people kind of say it’s the most formative thing they did in their college life,” Kavanagh said during her remarks.
Eckerd ranks first among baccalaureate institutions for total students who participate in short-term study abroad. In January of 2027, over 400 Eckerd students will study abroad in 18 countries.
Associate Director of Global Education Rosie Nelson took advantage of the working holiday authorization for a year after completing her master’s program. She managed internships in Ireland for a study abroad company.
Professor Virginie Khare leads the discussion with Consul General Sarah Kavanagh. Photo by Madison DeVore ’25
“It was great,” Nelson says. “I wouldn’t be working here at Eckerd if I hadn’t done that.”
Nelson recently visited Ireland, through Education in Ireland, with a group of educators from across the U.S., leading to the arrangement of Kavanagh’s visit to Eckerd. The College is looking to expand its international programming in Ireland.
Riley Bloom ’25, global education marketing coordinator, says the principles of diplomacy go hand-in-hand with studying abroad. Both gain experience in cross-cultural connections, Bloom says, and should practice open-mindedness and respectful communication with a culture different from their own.
Laurel McNeary, a first-year from Brevard, North Carolina, attended the event and is interested in studying both political science and marine science.
“I was really curious about what working abroad looks like and diplomacy,” Laurel says.
In addition to learning more about Kavanagh’s work, Laurel says she gained perspective on the country of Ireland itself, which they didn’t expect.
Ireland has a positive connection with Florida that goes a long way back, Kavanagh says. The first recorded St. Patrick’s Day Parade in the Americas took place in St. Augustine in 1600, which University of South Florida professor of history J. Michael Francis, Ph.D., discovered in archival material. The Irish diaspora in Florida is estimated to be around 1.8 million people, Kavanagh adds, emphasizing the important economic and cultural relationship.
“I’m just working on the ground to strengthen those relationships at all levels,” Kavanagh says.
