St Columb's College to host Reflections on Russia- A talk by former Irish Ambassador to Russia, Jim Sharkey

St. Columb’s College in Derry will host former Irish Ambassador to Russia and past pupil, Jim Sharkey, to deliver a talk on his time in the country and help contextualise contemporary Russian foreign policy.

The event is set to go ahead Thursday March 10 at 7:45pm.

A spokesperson for the event said: "This event is part of St. Columb’s College’s year of celebration of the 1,500th anniversary of the patron of the city and island, St. Columba.

"The event will centre on the importance of diplomacy and dialogue. This issue of conflict has remained an ever-present in our world and is manifest, in all its anguish and tragedy, through the current conflict in Ukraine.

"There are few better qualified or positioned to speak on this than former Irish Ambassador of nearly 40 years’ experience, Jim Sharkey, who will deliver a talk titled: Reflections on Russia; A talk by former Irish Ambassador Jim Sharkey."

Jim Sharkey was born in Derry in 1945 and educated at CBS and St Columb’s College, before attending University College Dublin where he graduated in 1966 with a degree in Modern and Medieval History.

He subsequently studied Russian History at the Centre for Russian and Eastern European Studies at the University of Birmingham, England. It was in Birmingham that he met and married his wife, Sattie. 

After teaching in Derry, London and Dublin, he joined the Department of Foreign Affairs in 1970 and specialised in international political affairs.

Between 1972 to 1974, he was a member of the Irish delegation to the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Helsinki and Geneva, the first serious multilateral attempt to defuse the tensions of the Cold War era.

In 1974, in keeping with the spirit of detente, Ireland established a resident Embassy in Moscow and Jim Sharkey was selected as Charge d'Affaires a.i. to open up the Embassy and prepare for the arrival of the Ambassador. Leonid Brezhnev was the leading political personality of the then USSR at that time.

Jim returned to Moscow in 2001 and presented his credentials as Irish Ambassador to Vladimir Putin who had replaced Boris Yeltsin as President of the new Russian Federation.

In addition to Russia, Jim has been Irish Ambassador to Australia, Japan, Scandinavia and Switzerland. He has also served as Irish Permanent Representative to the Council of Europe in Strasburg.

Between 1980 and 1985, Jim was Political Counsellor at the Irish Embassy in Washington where, among other issues, he dealt with Irish- American and Northern Ireland related questions.

Jim’s influence in Washington was a crucial cog in securing a peace deal in Northern Ireland as he worked, amongst others, with influential Irish-American politicians, the Reagan administration, and the Irish government. 

Jim will speak principally of his memories of Russia, the fall of the Soviet Union and contemporary Russian foreign policy.

This marquee event in a year of St. Columb’s College’s Columba celebrations is open to everyone.

The event is free and to confirm attendance, email: columba1500@stcolumbscollege. org

Tea and refreshments will be provided after the talk.