Kevin F. O’Malley was sworn in as U.S. Ambassador to Ireland on September 30, 2014 and presented his credentials to President Michael D. Higgins on October 8, 2014.
Ambassador O’Malley, an attorney, was a partner at Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C., in St. Louis, Missouri whose trial skills have earned him Fellowship in the American College of Trial Lawyers. Ambassador O’Malley has been an adjunct professor both at Washington University School of Law and St. Louis University School of Law. He is a nationally recognized author of a treatise on jury instructions that is used in federal jury trials throughout the United States.
Ambassador O’Malley is known as a talented leader, expert manager, and forthright public speaker and he has been consistently chosen by the editors of The Best Lawyers in America for his work in medical negligence defence and white collar criminal defences. Based on a career that has emphasized collegiality and common sense in litigation, he recently received the Award of Honor of the Lawyers Association of St. Louis, a recognition by plaintiffs and defendants attorneys of his abilities to resolve conflicts in a courteous and professional manner.
Before entering private practice Ambassador O’Malley was an Assistant United States Attorney in St. Louis, Missouri and a Special Attorney of the Organized Crime Section of the United States Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, California and Phoenix, Arizona. During his tenure as a federal prosecutor he received the Distinguished Service Award from the United States Attorney General. He was a legal instructor for the Central and Eastern European Law Initiative (ABA/CEELI) in both Moscow and Warsaw. In 2009 Ambassador O’Malley was appointed by Missouri Governor Jay Nixon to be the only non-physician on the Missouri Board of Registration for the Healing Arts, the medical licensing and disciplinary authority in the state. The physicians subsequently elected him as Board President. He also served as an officer in the United States Army Reserve.
Ambassador O’Malley earned an A.B. in 1970 and J.D. in 1973 at Saint Louis University where he served on the editorial board of its law journal.
Ambassador O’Malley has strong Irish roots. Both of his parents were Irish and his paternal grandparents emigrated from Westport in County Mayo approximately one hundred years ago. He held dual citizenship with Ireland and the United States until the confirmation process for this position. Ambassador O’Malley came to Ireland with his wife, Dena. They have two sons, Brendan and Ryan.
