New role for Mayo woman enjoying successful career in Europe
Castlebar woman Tara Baynes has been appointed a public diplomacy officer with Ireland’s Consulate in Munich.
A daughter of Mick and Colette Baynes, she takes up her new role with the Department of Foreign Affairs on March 1 next.
It’s a significant step in her career after working in the European Parliament since September 2021 as an accredited parliamentary assistant (APA) to a German MEP.
It provided her with the opportunity to work in a foreign language and to experience the world of politics from a completely different perspective.
Tara elaborated: “Working as an APA is a thrilling job but you always need to be top of your game, being up to date on not just the headlines of their country but also those of the EU 27.”
After she passed her civil servants exams, she joined the nearly 9,000-strong civil service of the European Parliament.
She said: “Nine thousand people may seem like a huge number of bureaucrats, but they work for over 500,000,000 EU citizens.
“By comparison, the city of Frankfurt in Germany has a civil service of nearly 30,000 people for a population of 800,000 inhabitants! My office sits right beside the protocol entrance of the Parliament, which means I have had the daily pleasure of observing the full pageantry of international protocol at play.
“I’ve been lucky enough to shake hands with the King of Belgium, the President of Latvia, the Prime Minister of The Netherlands, as well as Cate Blanchett, to name but a few.
“Working in the civil service also means working with all 720 MEP offices from all political parties across the 27 Member States.
“Through daily exchanges, shared music programmes and collaborative sports days, I have learned that as Europeans, we have much more in common than what divides us.
“I love sharing what it was like growing up in Castlebar with my continental colleagues. Even something as small as a Tayto sandwich, a meejum or Cuinneog butter, introducing them to a piece of home, feels like I am bringing Castlebar closer to the heart of Europe.
“At the same time, the corridors of the European Parliament are no stranger to ex-students of Castlebar and Mayo secondary schools.
“This is certainly evident when it comes to Irish celebrations around St. Patrick’s Day, when it is possible to see a Mayo flag flying from some office windows or on All-Ireland Sunday, when the Irish pubs in the European Quarter are a sea of green and red.
“They say that no matter where you are in the world, you will always find someone in a Mayo jersey, and that, I can confirm, is fact.
“Despite being one of the smallest Member States, many of the senior positions in the EU are held by Irish people, a good number of whom are women. There is no reason why a student of a Mayo secondary school cannot be one of them.
“The president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, is from the smallest Member State - Malta - which proves that you do not need to be from the biggest country or from a wealthy background to make it to the top.
“The students of St. Joseph’s Secondary School, Castlebar, recently peppered me with questions about politics, life in Brussels. I could hear the voice of my grandfather, Tom Baynes, in my head, telling me what Commissioner Flynn told him in his office in the European Commission in 1995: ‘I sold pigs as a child on Market Square, Tom. Nobody here can teach anything after that!’
“While I may not have been a Market Square trader myself, I could not agree more; young people from Ireland, and specifically Castlebar, are right up there with our European counterparts in terms of competitiveness.”
Later this year Castlebar celebrates the 25th anniversary of its town twinning with Höchstadt an der Aisch, a charming town in Germany’s Franconian region in Bavaria.
Tara observed: “At first glance, Castlebar and Höchstadt may appear quite different. Yet, over the past quarter-century, we have discovered that we share much more than we initially thought.
“Both towns have a rich history, a vibrant community spirit, and a deep-rooted appreciation for heritage and tradition. The partnership between Castlebar and Höchstadt has fostered friendships, cultural exchange, and mutual understanding. Each year, delegations from Castlebar visit Höchstadt, and vice versa, celebrating our shared European identity while appreciating the unique qualities of each town. The twinning initiative, which began as a small gesture of friendship, has grown into a powerful symbol of European solidarity. It serves as a reminder that, regardless of our nationalities, we have a shared interest in building a peaceful and prosperous Europe.
“The bonds we have formed with Höchstadt highlight that when we embrace our commonalities rather than focus on our differences, we strengthen the ties that unite us. To me this is the spirit of cooperation that the EU embodies.”
While she loves her life in Europe, Castlebar will always be her home.
“Reflecting on my early years, I remember the simple childhood joys of living in the town; whether that was above the Tweed Centre on Main Street or spending time on my grandmother’s farm in Belcarra. Those are the memories I think about on those dreary winter evenings in Brussels, when home can feel distant. However, one glance at the tricolour flying in front of the European Parliament and I have come to realise that home is always closer than it seems,” she added.