Bobby McDonagh entered the Irish diplomatic service in 1977, and is regarded as an expert on European Union affairs, having spent 23 years of his career either in the corridors of Brussels or in the EU division of the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs.
This included periods in the Secretariat of the European Parliament, periods in the cabinets of two European Commissioners and a period (2005–2009) as the Irish Permanent Representative to the EU. He was Ambassador of Ireland to the United Kingdom (2009–2013) and served as Ambassador of Ireland to Italy (2013–2017). Now a columnist and commentator, notably on Brexit and the European Union, Mr. McDonagh has also authored a collection of speeches on British-Irish relations: Irish Friends and Friends of Ireland; and Inside the Mind of a Permanent Representative (an essay explaining what goes on inside the mind of an EU negotiator) and a book about the EU called Original Sin in a Brave New World: The Paradox of Europe.