February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
You could mistake them for bodyguards only they usually don’t look the kind of people who pack heat.
But they do pack. And rather frequently.
Tim O’Connor’s luggage is certainly open again. Indeed, given the energy and verve he has brought to his job over the last year and a half, the Irish inhabitants of New York and their Irish American cousins would be forgiven for believing that he never actually fully unpacked.
Being Ireland’s consul general in New York is not a job for the underpowered. It’s like diplomatic Nascar.
O’Connor has followed some pretty hard driving predecessors, but there is a view about that he has set new diplomatic speed records as his busy days flew, unceasingly, into Talladega-paced nights.
O’Connor’s room radar works at a star wars level. And there are moments when you would believe he has x-ray vision to boot. He will spot and name a new arrival seemingly despite a phalanx of bodies between himself and the door.
It’s a skill that is natural to begin with and further honed by diligent practice. And it serves well in a bustling metropolis like New York.
It will also serve, though at a slightly more relaxed pace, in