UN Ambassador Samantha Power missed crucial meeting on Syria because she was on holiday in Ireland where her husband was guest speaker at comedy film festival

Samantha Power was appointed as the U.S. ambassador to the UN on August 1 after serving on the National Security Council



Was born in Ireland and was reportedly visiting her native country on a 'personal trip' when the emergency session was called Wednesday

Latest reports say she returned to the U.S. on Friday



Samantha Power, the newly appointed US ambassador to the UN, has spent her career urging international intervention in cases of genocide.



The gassing of hundreds of Syrians should have been a perfect opportunity to speak out and force quick action.



However, the Irish-born academic was nowhere to be seen and failed to attend an emergency UN Security Council meeting during the week.



Samantha Power, the American ambassador to the United Nations, says that, if the United States decides to strike in Syria, it will not be going alone

So where was she? The Mail on Sunday can reveal that she was on holiday in Waterville, Co. Kerry, where her husband, Harvard professor Cass R. Sunstein, was due to give a talk at the village’s Charlie Chaplin Comedy Film Festival.

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‘She’s a lovely lady. She was like any other person, doing her shopping and holidaymaking,’ he added.

The US State Department refused to confirm whether she had attended the festival.

Her no-show at a meeting of the Security Council on Wednesday was widely criticised, with a former UN spokesman saying that her absence ‘sent a terrible message’ and could ‘scar her career’. She did manage to tweet about Syria : Reports devastating: 100s dead in streets, including kids killed by chem weapons. UN must get there fast & if true, perps must face justice. — Samantha Power (@AmbassadorPower) August 21, 2013

Close ties: Before being appointed to the United Nations, she worked on the National Security Council and as a part of President Obama's re-election campaign (seen here in June)

'Ambassador Power is on a long planned personal trip,' National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan confirmed.



'She has full communications and has been fully engaged on all national security issues.'

Guest speaker: Miss Power's husband Cass Sunstein

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki confirmed in her press briefing on Thursday that earlier in the week Ms Powers attended a National Security Council meeting that President Obama called to deal with the crisis in Egypt.

Power was born in Ireland and lived there until she was 9-years-old when she moved with her family to Atlanta, Georgia. Her relatives still live in Ireland.

CNN has now reported that she has come home and participated in National Security Council meetings remotely.



Conservative commentators for Fox News called on Ms Power to reveal her location publicly, saying: 'Just say where she is. It looks like she's just on vacation. If she is, who cares? Everyone is in August. They should admit it,' Daily Caller editor and Fox commentator Tucker Carlson said.



'I hope the new Ambassador has a really good reason for her absence. Secret trip for UN business? Good reasons I understand,' Fox host Greta Van Susteren wrote on her blog.

While she would not have been able to fly back to the United States in time for the emergency meeting, a deputy attended in her place and she is reportedly staying briefed.

Wednesday's attack in Syria is believed to have been caused by chemical weapons but it is not certain as United Nations weapons inspectors have not been allowed in the country.

Death toll: Hundreds died in the alleged chemical attacks, including many women and children

The headcount from the attack- which appears to have included many women and children- is thought to be more than 100 people and all told more than 100,000 people have been killed in Syria since the start of the country's civil war.

It comes as little surprise that Ms Power is an advocate for global action as the majority of her work and expertise has centered around the study of genocide.

She has written books and participated in documentaries about the genocides in Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Armenia and Darfur.