Adrian Beamish was born on 21 January 1939, the son of Thomas Charles Constantine Beamish and Josephine Mary (née Lee). He was educated at Christian Brothers’ College, Cork [Ireland], Prior Park College, Bath, Christ’s College, University of Cambridge (MA) and also at the Università per gli Stranieri, Perugia [Italy]. In 1965, he married (1st) Caroline Lipscomb (marriage dissolved 1991), having two daughters, and (2nd) in 1994, Antonia Cavanagh (marriage dissolved 2011, she died 2014), having one daughter, and one step son and one step daughter.

Beamish joined the Diplomatic Service in 1962, and his diplomatic career included the following: Third, later Second Secretary, Tehran [Iran], 1963–66; Foreign Office, 1966–69; First Secretary, UK Delegation, OECD, Paris [France], 1970–73; New Delhi [India], 1973–76; Foreign and Commonwealth Office, 1976–78; Counsellor, Personnel Operations Department, FCO, 1978–80; Counsellor (Economic), Bonn [Germany], 1981–85; Head, Falkland Islands Department, FCO, 1985–87; Ambassador to Peru, 1987–89; Assistant Under-Secretary of State (Americas), FCO, 1989–94; Ambassador to Mexico, 1994–99. Sir Adrian died on 20 January 2024.