He was a legal instructor for the American Bar Association Central and East European Law Initiative (ABA CEELI) in Moscow, Russia in 1996 and Warsaw, Poland in 1999.

White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough said that O'Malley would bring "a strong knowledge of the role of the religious and cultural underpinnings, and the very important foreign policy and national security undergirdings" of the relationship between the United States and Ireland.

[12] On November 8, 2016, the day of the US presidential election, he made a speech at the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin where he said "regardless of who our next president is in January, America's relationship with Ireland will remain strong because of the exceptional ties that already exist between our two countries.

The series invites prominent U.S. artists, writers, filmmakers, digital culture innovators and musicians to share their experiences with young Irish students and audiences.

According to Ambassador O'Malley, the mission of the ongoing series is "to find ways to create new collaborations and encourage more creative economic linkages between young people in the United States and Ireland.

[17] Other prominent guests of the Creative Minds series have included: The Sopranos creator David Chase; musician Christopher Tin; New York City-based storytelling group The Moth; Pixar's Pete Docter and Jonas Rivera;[18] songwriter Paul Williams; singer-songwriter Glen Hansard; singer-songwriter John Prine;[19] co-founder of Square and LaunchCode, Jim McKelvey; singer-songwriter Patty Griffin;[20] rapper and poet Saul Williams; singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright;[21] singer-songwriter Ryan Bingham;[22] restaurateur and New York Times best-selling author Danny Meyer; Grammy award-winning banjo player and composer Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn; general manager and president of Pixar, Jim Morris; Americana musician Shakey Graves; A cappella group Straight No Chaser; musician Andrew Bird; Ryanair CEO and businessman Michael O'Leary; songwriter Jimmy Webb; and U.S. Vice President Joe Biden.

On November 3, 2015, at an opening session for the Web Summit in Dublin, Irish Independent journalist Dearbhail McDonald remarked during an interview with Ambassador O'Malley that he had "managed almost single-handedly to turn Deerfield- the US Ambassador's Residence in Ireland in the Phoenix Park- into one of the coolest music venues and one of the coolest arts venues through the Creative Minds Series.

"[23] On March 15, 2016, at the annual White House St. Patrick's Day party, President Barack Obama said of Ambassador O'Malley and his Creative Minds program: "Although Kevin's only been in Ireland for 18 months, he has crammed in almost eight years of work.

"[24] At the Ireland Fund 40th Anniversary Gala in Dublin on June 24, 2016, Vice President Joe Biden said of Ambassador O'Malley, "one of the things I am so proud of our ambassador- Ambassador O'Malley- is he has gone out of his way to reach in every nook and cranny, every organization- big and small- to get to know this country, to get to know what makes it tick, to get to know each of the individuals.

"[25] In July 2016, Ambassador O'Malley and the U.S. Embassy Dublin produced a two-part series entitled Creative Minds in Medicine.

[26] Part two of the Creative Minds in Medicine series was held on World Head and Neck Cancer Day and hosted by Professor James Paul O'Neill from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.