Geraldine Byrne Nason, Ireland’s ambassador to the United States, visited the University of Missouri–St. Louis on Aug. 28 as part of her three-day trip to Missouri. Nason (center) had lunch with (from left): College of Arts and Sciences Dean Andrew Balkansky, Provost Steven J. Berberich, Chancellor Kristin Sobolik, Nason, UMSL student Kaley Ware, UMSL student Kathleen Jochman, Smurfit-Stone Corporation Professor of Irish Studies Eamonn Wall, Consul-General of Ireland in Austin, TX Robert Hull.

Wall, who runs the university’s renowned Irish Studies program, has been at UMSL for 25 years and was honored this spring as the honorary parade marshal of the 2025 St. Patrick’s Day Parade in downtown St. Louis. The two UMSL students who had the opportunity to meet Nason recently took part in study abroad opportunities in Ireland through UMSL; Ware did her program this spring in Limerick, and Jochman was in Galway this summer.

As part of her time in the St. Louis, Nason also met with St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer and made appearances at World Trade Center St. Louis and the Global Health Innovation Summit, which was organized by BioSTL. She also visited with Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe and Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, in addition to attending the Kansas City Irish Festival.

This photograph was taken by UMSL social media manager Valerie Furlong and is the latest to be featured in Eye on UMSL. View more UMSL photos by visiting the UMSL Flickr and Instagram accounts.