Rory Montgomery was educated at Trinity College Dublin and was an Irish diplomat from 1983-2019.  In the 1990s he worked on the Irish peace process and was part of the Irish team which negotiated the Good Friday Agreement (1998). He later served as Political Director, Permanent Representative to the European Union, Ambassador to France, EU adviser to the Taoiseach, and Second Secretary General for EU and European Affairs.  He is currently Chair of the Press Council of Ireland and an honorary professor at Queen’s University, Belfast. He is a member of the Royal Irish Academy and an officier de l’Ordre de la Légion d’Honneur.