Massachusetts’ relationship with Ireland is a “powerful and necessary” resource for advancing the wellbeing of and opportunity for residents in the state, Gov. Maura Healey told the Irish Senate in Dublin on Tuesday.
Healey, on her first international trade trip since taking office as the first openly lesbian governor in the United States, spoke heavily of her Irish roots during a speech before local lawmakers. Her great-grandmother left Ballinasloe, Ireland in 1912 for New York before eventually traveling north to Boston, she said.
Beyond her personal connection to the country, Healey said the economic partnership between Massachusetts and Ireland are reflected in the hundreds of companies employing thousands of people on both sides of the Atlantic ocean and the billion of dollars and euros in trade and investments that are exchanged.
Healey also pitched Massachusetts — and Ireland — as having a “competitive advantage” because of its work on reproductive and LGBTQ+ rights.
“In our business development meetings, I can tell prospective workers and students, employers or investors who are out there looking to make a life in Massachusetts or in Ireland, that whoever you are and whomever you love, you will be welcomed, you will be embraced, you will be respected,” she said. “That’s a competitive advantage in today’s world.”
The Healey administration billed this week’s trip to Ireland as a way to honor the 30-year anniversary of when the country decriminalized homosexuality. It also lines up with former President John F. Kennedy’s 1963 state visit to Ireland, which Healey previously said “launched a new era of economic and cultural partnership.”
Healey left Massachusetts on Sunday, leaving Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll as acting governor. Healey participated in a business roundtable on Monday and was scheduled to attend a “Women in Tech Coffee Hour” and tech business roundtable earlier Tuesday.
The governor plans to head to a clean tech, energy and sustainability roundtable and a “Homecoming: JFK in Ireland” Panel on Wednesday before flying back to Massachusetts on Friday.
Four staff members, Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper, Economic Development Secretary Yvonne Hao, Undersecretary of Economic Strategies Sarah Stanton, and MassTech Executive Director Carolyn Kirk also traveled to Ireland.
A Healey spokesperson said the cost of the trip will be covered by the administration, the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership, and Massachusetts Technology Collaborative.
Healey invoked Kennedy during her remarks, quoting him as saying 60 years ago, “the supreme reality of our time is our indivisibility as children of God and the common vulnerability of this planet.”
“We have a different understanding of our planet’s vulnerability today, but this truth remains unchanged,” Healey said. “If we embrace our shared destiny, then we will not only meet the climate challenge, we will also demonstrate the unity the world needs to meet all the challenges that confront us.”
Healey also pointed to Massachusetts’ work on clean energy, where the state is hoping to build the first major offshore wind farm in the United States even as rising costs place some uncertainty on the project.
“In Massachusetts, we’re leaning into offshore wind, embracing that as a technology where we know Ireland is also a leader in embracing what we need to do to address our climate situation,” she said.
And the governor brought up the state’s work on reproductive healthcare.
“We’re eradicating racial injustice from our legal system, our economy our schools, our health care systems, in every realm of life, and we’re defending the rights of every member of the gay, lesbian, and trans community to live their lives free from discrimination, abuse, violence or other barriers,” she said.
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