Gov. Maura Healey is traveling to Ireland next week to address local lawmakers on the country’s 30th anniversary of the decriminalization of homosexuality, her office said Tuesday afternoon.
During her first international trip as governor, Healey plans to speak at a series of business-focused events and offer remarks to the Irish Senate in Dublin over the course of her three-day visit. The trip also lines up with former President John F. Kennedy’s 1963 state visit to Ireland, which Healey’s office said “launched a new era of economic and cultural partnership” between the two nations.
Healey said she is “honored” to have been invited to Ireland as a granddaughter and great-granddaughter of Irish immigrants and the first openly LGBTQ governor of Massachusetts.
“I’m excited to meet with Ireland’s renowned business, technology, clean energy and education leaders to share with them all that Massachusetts has to offer – from our world-class education and research institutions to our cutting-edge biotechnology and clean energy sectors to our commitment to protecting civil rights and freedom – and why they should expand their activities here,” Healey said in a statement.
Healey’s office said the invitation was extended by U.S. Ambassador to Ireland Claire Cronin, who served in the Massachusetts state Senate prior to heading overseas.
Cronin, in a statement provided by Healey’s office, said she is “delighted” to welcome the governor.
“She will mark an historic occasion in Ireland’s civil rights journey, celebrate 60 years since the visit of President John F. Kennedy, and build upon the strong and growing trade relationship between the U.S. and Ireland,” Cronin said.
The governor is bringing Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper, Economic Development Secretary Yvonne Hao, Undersecretary of Economic Strategies Sarah Stanton, and MassTech Executive Director Carolyn Kirk.
Ireland decriminalized homosexuality in June 1993 and legalized same-sex marriage in May 2015, becoming the first country to do so on a national level.
Healey scheduled her first public event on Monday, when she will participate in a business roundtable hosted by Enterprise Ireland, a government agency that says it is responsible for the “development and growth of Irish enterprises in world markets.”
Healey addresses the Irish Senate on Tuesday at 10 a.m. Boston time. The remarks will be livestreamed on the Irish Senate’s website.
After a clean tech, energy, and sustainability roundtable hosted by UMass Lowell on Wednesday, Healey is scheduled to attend a “Homecoming: JFK in Ireland” panel discussion and reception in Dublin.