The next US Ambassador to Ireland will be Kevin F. O’Malley, a St. Louis attorney. His appointment took 18 months, following the departure of Dan Rooney. The long delay was criticized by leading Irish Americans, most recently by Congressman Joe Crowley, himself a leading Democrat.

O’Malley is also an officer in the Army Reserve and had ten years of service as a federal prosecutor. He is an ex-seminarian and prominent parishioner in the St. Louis diocese.

He is a second-generation Irish American and a highly respected community leader in St. Louis. His grandfather was from Mayo and O’Malley held dual citizenship until he was tapped to become ambassador. He is married with a son.

O’Malley is a lawyer in practice at Greensfelder Attorneys at Law in St. Louis, MO. He is a well-known figure in Democratic Party circles and recently attended the Obama state dinner for French President Francois Hollande.

He has more than 35 years of trial experience and his practice primarily focuses on complex litigation involving medical negligence, federal white collar criminal defense, and product liability defense.

Earlier in his career, O’Malley served as a Special Attorney of the Organized Crime and Racketeering Section at the Department of Justice, as well as an Assistant United States Attorney in St. Louis.

He is continuously selected for inclusion by the editors of “The Best Lawyers in America.”

In 2009, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon appointed O’Malley as the only non-physician member of the Missouri Board of Healing Arts, the state’s licensing and disciplinary body for physicians.

O’Malley is the senior author of the nine volume treatise "Federal Jury Practice and Instructions." He is a prominent parishioner of the St. Louis Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church. He received a B.A. and J.D. from St. Louis University School of Law.

Obama insiders say O’Malley is a respected leader in the Irish American and religious community in St. Louis, where he has been a leading supporter of the Catholic Student Center at Washington University in St. Louis.

In 2013 the Lawyers Association of St. Louis presented him with the Award of Honor for his professional and public service. He also serves as Vice President of the St. Louis Inns of Court, which mentors young trial lawyers.

Kevin O’Malley served as a Legal Instructor for the American Bar Association’s Central and East European Law Initiative and teaches at the Washington University School of Law.