Wednesday, 13 May 2026, Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, Germany: Mayor Andreas Bovenschulte welcomed Irish Ambassador Maeve Monica Collins to Bremen City Hall. Following the welcome, Ambassador Collins signed the city’s Golden Book.
During their meeting, Mayor Bovenschulte and Ambassador Collins discussed opportunities for cooperation between Bremen and Ireland. The conversation also covered Bremen’s presidency of the Bundesrat (Federal Council of States) and Ireland’s upcoming presidency of the Council of the European Union, which it will assume in the second half of this year.
Earlier in the day, Ambassador Collins paid introductory visits to the Bremen State Parliament (Bremische Bürgerschaft) and the Chamber of Commerce.
At the State Parliament, Ambassador Collins was welcomed by Speaker Antje Grotheer. During the latter meeting, topic of conversation was U.S. online platforms. According to Collins, Ireland serves as a key technology hub for these companies. It is essential, she noted, to develop “smart” regulations — specifically to make the internet safer for children and protect them from dangers — while simultaneously preserving Ireland’s role as a technology hub.
Ambassador Collins has served in a diplomatic career spanning more than three decades, with postings and senior appointments across Europe, Asia, and North America. He began his service with the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs in 1990 as Third Secretary in the Anglo-Irish Division in Dublin, later moving to the Economic Division and serving at the Embassy of Ireland in Bern and Ottawa. Over the years, he took on increasingly senior roles, including positions in the Development Cooperation Division, the Department of Finance, and the British-Irish Intergovernmental Secretariat in Belfast.
His career also includes extensive leadership in Irish and European external relations. He served as Joint Director General at the International Fund for Ireland, then as Ambassador of Ireland to Viêt Nam and later to Finland.
In 2011, he joined the European External Action Service as Deputy Head of Delegation at the EU Delegation in Japan, before returning to senior roles in Dublin as Regional Director in the Asia-Pacific Unit and later as Director General of the EU Division. He went on to serve as Deputy Permanent Representative of Ireland to the European Union in Brussels, and since August 2024 has been Ambassador at the Embassy of Ireland in Berlin.
For further information
Bremen State Assembly: https://www.bremische-buergerschaft.de/index.php?id=35&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=2415&cHash=5bda8bb9aa4e972579bd757294547d38
