Government representatives, state agencies and businesses are among a contingent that has travelled to the US this week to promote Ireland abroad.

The ‘Global Ireland’ mission will encompass Chicago and Boston. The public/private partnership is the first overseas delegation since the government-launched 'Global Ireland – Ireland’s Global Footprint to 2025’ initiative.

The initiative is designed to double the scale and impact of Ireland’s international presence from now until 2025.

The US mission comprises more than 50 representatives from government, both past and present, as well as business leaders and diplomats. The delegation travels from Dublin airport today to convene tomorrow (April 9) in Chicago for an event at the Chicago Consulate.

On April 10, the delegation will be hosted in Chicago by Notre Dame University. Speakers at this event will include junior minister Michael D’Arcy and Geraldine Byrne Nason, Irish Ambassador to UN.

In Association with

The event will be moderated by Robert Mac Giolla Phádraig (pictured), CCO, Sigmar and co-founder of Ireland: Gateway to Europe, who is also leading the week-long mission.

Mac Giolla Phádraig will also be moderating on April 11 at the Boston College Ireland Business Council Global Investment Symposium.

Speakers at this event will include former Taoiseach Brian Cowen and Katie Burke, chief people officer in HubSpot.

On April 12, the theme of transatlantic citizenship will be explored at an event in the Kennedy Summer School in Chicago.

“While the mission incorporates a large business and trade aspect of the government’s initiative, it also meets many of the other areas outlined in the plan to include diplomacy, culture and tourism,” explained Mac Giolla Phádraig.

“From a business & trade perspective, the importance of Ireland’s business relationship with the US is greater in 2019 that ever before, particularly in light of the uncertainty of the impending Brexit.

“Irish investment in the US grew by 72% in 2018. Irish companies in the US now employ over 100,000 US citizens.”

Mac Giolla Phádraig added that The ‘Global Ireland’ programme includes the first ever documented strategy concerning Irish/US relations, with the goal of creating a one-trillion-dollar relationship.

“If we are to achieve this, we as a business community need to make a concerted effort to build on existing relationships and to forge new ways of doing business with our US colleagues. What makes this relationship unique is a well-established set of values and aligned interests that we both share.”