While President Clinton's choice as next US ambassador to Dublin continues to intrigue, Quidnunc can announce who will be the new No 2 in the Ballsbridge embassy. The wonderfully named Earle St Aubin Scarlett, at present director of political training at the Foreign Service Institute of the US Department of State will take over this summer from Madelyn Spirnak. The new deputy chief of mission will be accompanied by his wife, Barbara, who will head the information services at the embassy. She is a senior adviser to the director of the the US Information Agency (USIS).
If the appointment of the new ambassador is much longer delayed, there will not be time to have confirmation hearings before the Senate breaks up in early October for the November election campaign. This could push the hearings back to next March. In the meantime, newcomer Scarlett could be running the show.
White House press secretary, Mike McCurry, showed up the other evening at the home of the Irish embassy press officer, Adrian O'Neill and his wife Aisling, for a farewell party for Eric Rubin, who has been handling media queries about Ireland at the White House for almost two years. Both McCurry and Rubin, who is going back to the State Department, said that they enjoyed the "fun" side of the Irish Question - such as the parties. McCurry paid tribute to O'Neill's work liaising with the White House on media matters, describing him as the "perfect diplomat".