Governor Maura Healey will travel to Ireland next week for her first overseas trade mission, when she will address Irish lawmakers on the 30th anniversary of the decriminalization of homosexuality in the country and meet with business leaders over several days in Dublin.
Healey is scheduled to leave Massachusetts on Sunday and return June 30, according to a schedule the Cambridge Democrat’s office released Tuesday. The first openly gay governor in the state’s history, Healey will address the Irish Senate about “standing up for our values and protecting the rights of everyone in our communities” on the anniversary of the decriminalization of homosexuality there, the release said.
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She’ll also mark the 60th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s historic state visit to Ireland with a panel and reception on June 28. In 1963, Kennedy was the first US president to visit Ireland, his ancestral homeland, according to the American Embassy in Dublin.
Several of Healey’s appointees will travel with her, including energy secretary Rebecca Tepper and economic development secretary Yvonne Hao as well as four staff members. Carolyn Kirk, the executive director of the MassTech Collaborative, and Jay Ash, president and CEO of the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership, will also join Healey at roundtable discussions focused on the technology and energy sectors, two of which are hosted by Cambridge software company HubSpot.
Marty Meehan, president of the University of Massachusetts system, and others education leaders will also travel to Ireland and attend a roundtable with Healey hosted by UMass Lowell, according to a schedule Healey’s office released.
She’ll also meet with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Ireland’s first openly gay prime minister; Tánaiste Micheál Martin, its deputy prime minister; and Cathaoirleach Jerry Buttimer, the head of the Irish Senate.
On June 29, which was not included on the itinerary initially released by her office, Healey will attend a reception with Claire Cronin, the US ambassador to Ireland and a former Massachusetts state lawmaker.
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“I am delighted to welcome Governor Healey to Ireland,” Cronin said in a statement. “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.”
Healey aides said they’re still determining the final cost of the trip, but that they expect the administration, the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership, and Massachusetts Technology Collaborative to cover various aspects of it. University leaders, the MassTech Collaborative, and Massachusetts Competitive Partnership are responsible for their own costs, a Healey spokeswoman said.
Healey, whose grandparents and great-grandparents were Irish immigrants, said she was invited to Ireland by Cronin, among others.
“I’m honored to have been invited to address Seanad Éireann [the Irish Senate] about the importance of developing our economic ties, standing up for our values and protecting the rights of everyone in our communities,” Healey said in a statement. She said she would pitch Irish officials and business leaders on Massachusetts’ schools, biotechnology sector, and “our commitment to protecting civil rights and freedom — and why they should expand their activities here.”
Healey, who took office in January, has made “competitiveness” a buzzword of her early tenure, and embraced the role of booster-in-chief for a state that has seen tens of thousands of residents leave in recent years.
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Charlie Baker took two official overseas trade missions as governor, one to Israel in 2016 and another in 2019 to London. He also visited Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada. Deval Patrick took 10 international trade missions during his eight-year tenure as governor, including a 2013 trip to Ireland.
Matt Stout can be reached at matt.stout@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @mattpstout. Samantha J. Gross can be reached at samantha.gross@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @samanthajgross.