Irish Examiner View: Joe Kennedy is well placed for new role in the North

Kennedy had been working with The Groundwork Project, an organisation he founded which, works with communities to 'build sustainable political infrastructure, engage and educate voters, and build power for the underrepresented and disenfranchised.' Picture: Charles Krupa/PA

The appointment by US president Joe Biden this week of Joe Kennedy III as a special envoy to Northern Ireland will be welcomed on both sides of the Atlantic, as further evidence of his commitment to solving the problems in the North.

US media has speculated that the appointment of Robert F Kennedy’s grandson to the position underlines Mr Biden’s longstanding commitment to Ireland, and his wish to see greater economic development within the six counties.

Officials have indicated that Mr Kennedy will focus not so much on the thorny negotiations on the Northern Ireland protocol, but on the regeneration of the economy there, in order to provide long-term and stable foundations for growth.

In the two years of his presidency, Biden has shown a masterful diplomatic touch and, on the face of it, this appointment appears to be another sure-footed move from the Oval Office, positioning as it does a hugely respected figure in the Irish-American community with worldwide credibility in a sensitive position, but with a direct line to the White House.

The British government, still without a post-Brexit trade deal with the US and knowing that this White House will not tolerate any move which threatens to derail the Good Friday Agreement, should see Joe Kennedy’s appointment as a diplomatic olive branch which can be nurtured for the betterment of relations between the two countries.

Ironically, for Kennedy himself, it will be possible to parlay his new role into a route back into mainstream US politics. 

After a stellar career in Congress, he left the House in 2020 to pursue a Massachusetts Senate seat — against sage advice, it has to be said — and lost the race to the incumbent, Edward Markey.

Since then he has worked with The Groundwork Project, an organisation he founded which, as per its mission statement, works with communities to “build sustainable political infrastructure, engage and educate voters, and build power for the underrepresented and disenfranchised”.

Despite the indications that Mr Kennedy will not have an overtly political role in the North, the work he has been doing at home sounds like a good fit for the challenges he will face in his new job.