The Irish Embassy in London hosted the UK book launch of former minister for housing Eoghan Murphy, with the associated costs covered by public funds, it has been confirmed.
The embassy, on Grosvenor Place in London, held the UK launch of Mr Murphy’s memoir, Running From Office, on Wednesday last week, posting on social media afterwards that it was an “insightful conversation led by Ryan Tubridy”.
The two-hour-long event was hosted by Irish Ambassador to Britain, Martin Fraser, with former RTÉ broadcaster Ryan Tubridy leading the launch and subsequent discussion of Mr Murphy’s political memoir.
Mr Fraser was previously secretary general at the Department of the Taoiseach, including while Mr Murphy was minister for housing, from 2011 until he took up the role of ambassador in 2022.
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The Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed on Monday that the associated costs, including food, beverages and staffing, of the event were covered by its mission budget.
“For each book launch hosted at the embassy, the costs for food, beverages and staff are met from the mission budget,” a spokeswoman for the department said.
“In relation to the event in question, the book’s publisher, Eriu, wrote to the embassy with a proposal for the event.
“The estimated cost of this event was £2,104 (€2,550),” the spokeswoman said.
Asked about Mr Tubridy’s involvement, the department said no fees were paid by the embassy to any participant.
The department said the former minister for housing’s book launch was hosted by the ambassador as part of the embassy’s event programme.
The programme, the spokeswoman said, includes up to 100 events per year, “covering a wide range of topics and a large number of events”.
“In addition, the embassy supported the Irish Writers Weekend at the British Library, which featured over 30 Irish writers,” she said.
The former minister’s event was one of seven book launches hosted by the Irish Embassy in London to date in 2024.
Mr Murphy resigned his Dáil seat in 2021. His memoir, entitled Running From Office: Confessions of Ambition and Failure in Politics, details his time as minister for housing.
Neither he nor his publisher, Eriu, the Irish imprint of Bonnier Books UK, responded to requests for comment.
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