He was a former member of the Ceylon Civil Service[1] and served as Presidential adviser to J R Jayawardena and Ranasinghe Premadasa [2].
His father I. M. R. A. Iriyagolla was Cabinet Minister of Education and Cultural Affairs.
During his service in the CCS, he attended Trinity Hall, University of Cambridge for postgraduate study (LLM) and served in the Ministry of Agriculture & Food as Deputy Director of Agricultural Development; Co-Director of the Agrarian Research & Training Institute (ARTI); Senior Assistant Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture & Lands [2].
Following his retirement from the Sri Lanka Administrative Service he served as Presidential adviser for President Ranasinghe Premadasa.
He died on 3 February 2003 with the final rites taking place at the Colombo General Cemetery.