Westmeath man to take up senior role in buenos aires

A Westmeath man is heading to Argentina this month, to take up the role of deputy ambassador at the Irish Embassy in Buenos Aires.

Bobby Smyth, who is from Moate, has previously served in Istanbul as Third Secretary with the Irish Embassy, and has also served in Belfast. The formal title of his role in Argentina is that of Deputy Head of Mission.

A former Rosemount GAA player, Bobby attended Rosemount NS before heading to the Cistercian College, Roscrea, and then DCU, from which he graduated with a journalism degree.

He covered news and sport for The Westmeath Independent while still a student, and after his graduation, went on to work with The Sunday Tribune before joining the Department of Foreign Affairs.

“I’m looking forward to it,” he told The Westmeath Examiner ahead of his departure to Argentina, a country he has visited in the past as a tourist.

“[Buenos Aires] is a great city and Argentina is a great country and I really liked it and got a good feel for the place,” he said.

“The opportunity to work there only crops up every so often and it happened at the right time: this year, it cropped up and I was due to go abroad, so I put my name in the hat for it and was very happy.

“I look forward to getting to know the Irish Argentine community as well, following the revival of hurling at Buenos Aires Hurling Club, which has strong links to the community and to the embassy.”

News of Bobby’s appointment came as a great delight to members of one local organisation, the Longford Westmeath Argentina Society, which honours the links between this area and Argentina.

Most of the emigrants from Ireland to Argentina in the 1800s were from Westmeath and Longford, as well as from Mayo, Galway and Wexford.