Mary Tinney
{{Short description|Irish diplomat}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2022}}
{{Use Hiberno-English|date=February 2022}}
{{Infobox ambassador
| honorific-prefix =
| name = Mary Catherine Tinney
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| office = Irish Ambassador to Sweden
| term_start = {{dts|1973|11|}}
| term_end = {{dts|1978|11|}}
| predecessor = Timothy Joseph Horan
| successor = Orla O'Hanrahan
| office2 = Irish Ambassador to Belgium
| term_start2 = {{dts|1978|11|}}
| term_end2 = {{dts|1984||}}
| predecessor2 = Seán Morrissey
| successor2 = Andrew O'Rourke
| office3 = Irish Ambassador to Kenya
| term_start3 = {{dts|1985||}}
| term_end3 = {{dts|1987||}}
| predecessor3 = Michael GreeneMichael Greene presented credentials on 4 April to Mr Daniel Arap Moi, President of the Republic of Kenya, as Ireland's first Ambassador to Kenya. Mr Greene previously served as Acting Legal Adviser in the Department of Foreign affairs
| successor3 = Richard O'Brien with residence in Cairo also accredited to Sudan and Jordan.
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| birth_date = {{birth date|1924|02|15|df=y}}
| birth_place = Scotland
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2006|11|22|1924|02|15|df=y}}
| death_place = Dublin
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| mother = Winifred Reid
| father = Éamon Tinney
| education =
| alma_mater = University College, Dublin
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Mary Catherine Tinney (15 February 1924 – 22 November 2006) was the Irish ambassador to Sweden from 1973 to 1978, and was Ireland's first female ambassador.
Life and career
=Early life=
Tinney's parents were Irish migrants living in Scotland; her father Éamon was a tax official from Donegal and her mother Winifred (née Reid) a teacher from County Londonderry. In 1930, when Tinney was six years old, her family returned from Scotland to Carlingford, County Louth, where her father was killed in an accident, leaving his widow with four young children. The family moved to Dublin, where Tinney's mother taught in a convent school and trained choirs. Tinney attended University College, Dublin, graduating with BA Honours.
=Diplomatic career=
In 1948 Tinney entered the Irish foreign service as Third Secretary in London. From 1950 to 1963 she was posted to Stockholm, where she learned Swedish and danced an Irish jig before Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden. From 1963 to 1970 she was counsellor in Paris and delegate to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) during the period that the OECD began to engage itself more with Irish affairs. From 1970 to 1973 she was in charge of cultural affairs in Dublin and non-resident permanent representative to the Council of Europe. In 1973 she was briefly deployed as minister-counsellor at the London embassy.{{citation needed|date=February 2022}}
From November 1973 to November 1978 she was ambassador to Sweden, concurrently accredited to Finland and Poland.[https://aad.archives.gov/aad/createpdf?rid=96783&dt=2532&dl=1629 US State Department Archives, 28 April 1977] This was the first time a woman was appointed as a full Irish ambassador. From {{dts|1956|11|1|format=dmy}} to {{dts|1960|6|}} Josephine McNeill had served as head of the Irish delegation in Bern, Switzerland, with the title of minister but did not hold ambassadorial rank. Tinney went on to serve as Ambassador to Belgium and the European Community, from November 1978 to 1984,{{cite news|newspaper=The Irish Times|date=23 December 2006|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/news/first-woman-appointed-as-ambassador-when-posted-to-sweden-1.1042007|title=First woman appointed as ambassador when posted to Sweden|accessdate=15 December 2016}} and from November 1985 to 1987 to Nairobi in Kenya, with co-accreditation to Tanzania and Zambia.[https://books.google.com/books?id=sTIwAAAAYAAJ&q=%22Ambassador:+Mary+Tinney%22 Nairobi] While Tinney was stationed at Nairobi, the embassy was closed.
Personal life
Tinney was a skilled pianist, and used to host regular music evenings in her ambassadorial residences. She was also a keen golfer and a bridge enthusiast.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tinney, Mary Catherine}}
Category:Ambassadors of Ireland to Sweden
Category:Ambassadors of Ireland to Belgium
Category:Ambassadors of Ireland to Kenya
Category:Irish women ambassadors
Category:Alumni of University College Dublin
Category:Ambassadors of Ireland to Finland
Category:Irish expatriates in the United Kingdom
Category:Irish expatriates in France
Category:Ambassadors of Ireland to Poland
Category:Ambassadors of Ireland to Tanzania
Category:Ambassadors of Ireland to Zambia
Category:Ambassadors of Ireland to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development