{"id":367337,"date":"2026-03-27T03:30:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T03:30:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/367337\/"},"modified":"2026-03-27T03:30:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T03:30:12","slug":"mairead-mcguinness-appointed-eus-special-envoy-on-religious-freedom-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/367337\/","title":{"rendered":"Mairead McGuinness appointed EU\u2019s special envoy on religious freedom \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mairead McGuinness<\/a> has been appointed as the European Union\u2019s next special envoy for religious freedom. <\/p>\n

McGuinness, a former broadcaster, Irish MEP and European commissioner for financial services, had hoped to run for the presidency in Ireland last year but had to withdraw from the race due to ill health. <\/p>\n

The European Commission<\/a> has now appointed her as special envoy for freedom of religion or belief outside the European Union<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The role has been vacant for more than a year. The last person to hold the position was Belgian diplomat Frans van Daele.<\/p>\n

McGuinness was a Fine Gael<\/a> MEP for many years and served as Ireland\u2019s European commissioner between 2020 and 2024. <\/p>\n

On Thursday Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee<\/a> welcomed McGuinness\u2019s appointment and said she will \u201cplay an important part in the EU\u2019s efforts to protect freedom of religion or belief around the world\u201d.<\/p>\n

She added: \u201cAs special envoy, she will work closely with the European Commission, the European External Action Service [EEAS], EU member states, local governments and organisations, religious groups, and civil society. <\/p>\n

\u201cHer role includes raising awareness about discrimination, protecting persecuted minorities through education and dialogue, and supporting efforts to prevent radicalisation and religious extremism. She will also promote respect for religious diversity and tolerance.\u201d<\/p>\n

McEntee added: \u201cProtecting and promoting human rights, including freedom of religion or belief, is a key part of Ireland\u2019s foreign policy,\u201d and said: \u201cIreland strongly condemns all forms of persecution based on religion or belief.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last month McGuinness said she withdrew from last year\u2019s presidential election<\/a> campaign as a result of a severe bout of post-viral fatigue syndrome.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0\u2018I wasn\u2019t well\u2019: Mairead McGuinness on health issues that prompted presidential election withdrawalOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

She had been confirmed as Fine Gael\u2019s election candidate in July but pulled out of the race the following month.<\/p>\n

McGuinness told RT\u00c9 last month the diagnosis came as \u201ca bolt from the blue\u201d and left her \u201cknocked sideways\u201d and with no choice other than to end her campaign but she now feels \u201chale and hearty\u201d. <\/p>\n

McGuinness said that having to withdraw was disappointing but also added: \u201cI\u2019m a great believer in what is for you won\u2019t pass you\u201d and \u201cit doesn\u2019t cause me sleepless nights. That ship has passed.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mairead McGuinness has been appointed as the European Union\u2019s next special envoy for religious freedom. McGuinness, a former…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":367338,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[2244,1712,42,1556,37801,43,978,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-367337","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-eu","tag-european-commission","tag-headlines","tag-helen-mcentee","tag-mairead-mcguinness","tag-news","tag-presidential-election","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367337","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=367337"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367337\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/367338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=367337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=367337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=367337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}