Deputy Consul General of Ireland highlights education and trade ties with Connecticut

Deputy Consul General Gareth Hardin of the Consulate General of Ireland in New York told the Connecticut–Ireland Trade Commission on an agenda meeting that expanding educational links and practical working‑level contacts are central to strengthening economic ties between Ireland and Connecticut.

Hardin, introduced to the commission as the deputy consul general, said education “is one of the easiest ways for us to, to continue to build that relationship,” describing university exchange programs and joint degrees as long‑term pathways to sustained trade and professional engagement.

Hardin placed the remarks in a broader economic context, citing figures he said his office tracks: more than 200,000 jobs in the United States tied to Irish companies, Irish foreign direct investment in the U.S. valued at about $390 billion, and an Ireland–U.S. economic relationship on the order of €1,000,000,000,000. He identified several Irish firms with Connecticut operations, including Medtronic, Bank of Ireland, Accenture, Johnson Controls and others.

Hardin also pointed to the Hartford–Dublin air link as a practical facilitator of visits and business development, and he cited Connecticut export figures the consulate had collected: roughly $84 million in goods exports to Ireland and about $470 million in services exports in 2024. He urged the commission to maintain momentum and to develop more “working level” contacts along the East Coast that can sustain day‑to‑day collaboration.

Commission members asked about concrete education models. Professor Christine Keneally of Quinnipiac University described an existing exchange in which Quinnipiac sends about 60 students each spring semester to University College Cork and said those students form long‑term relationships with Irish institutions. Keneally and other commissioners suggested community colleges and internship programs as growth areas for expanded student, faculty and workforce exchanges.

Hardin also outlined Team Ireland operations on the U.S. East Coast — a cluster of Irish trade and promotion agencies, including Enterprise Ireland (trade promotion), IDA Ireland (investment promotion), Bord Bia (food promotion) and Tourism Ireland — that coordinate referrals and joint outreach. He said those agencies often work together in New York to avoid duplicated outreach and to capitalize on shared opportunities.

On trade details commissioners raised, Hardin said tariff arrangements affecting Irish whiskey and other products were still being worked out at the "working level," and that conversations included possible zero‑tariff arrangements; he cautioned that precise outcomes remained unsettled.

The commission invited the consulate to remain engaged, asked Hardin for contact information for working‑level agency staff, and discussed follow‑up presentations from relevant Irish trade and education agencies.

Hardin closed by urging the commission to use Ireland’s existing networks and the consulate’s East Coast partners to help Connecticut businesses, universities and small and medium enterprises expand connections with Ireland.