YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – A state commission formed six months ago to strengthen business, educational and cultural ties with Ireland is moving forward with new ideas and initiatives, thanks in part to two representatives from the Mahoning Valley.
State Rep. Lauren McNally, D-Youngstown, and Daniel O’Connell, the director of support services at Youngstown State University, were appointed to the inaugural nine-member Ohio Ireland Trade Commission in August.
“We’re setting a foundation to pursue a lot of possibilities,” O’Connell said. The commission was formed to raise Ohio’s profile as a business-friendly destination for Irish investment and companies, he said.
The commission is one of 15 across the United States, O’Connell said, and is the brainchild of Mark Daly, a member of the Irish Seanad, or Senate. “Mark is an amazing person, and he was looking for ways to blend our two countries together,” he said.
Gov. Mike DeWine appointed O’Connell – a former national president of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, an Irish Catholic fraternal organization founded in 1839 – to the commission. O’Connell served as AOH national president between 2020 and 2024. Three of the commission’s members are appointed by the governor, three by the Ohio House of Representatives and three by the Ohio Senate.
O’Connell said that the organization is very new, so it is starting with issues where it could have an early impact. Among these initiatives is proposing reciprocal driver’s licenses between Ohio and the Republic of Ireland.
Under a proposal by the commission, an Irish employee of an Irish company working in Ohio, for example, could renew their license here before it expires, O’Connell said. As it stands now, that employee would have to return to Ireland to renew their license – a process that could take up to 11 months.
The same would apply to Ohioans working in Ireland, O’Connell said.
“A reciprocal driver’s license program would give us a benefit for employees who are going back and forth,” O’Connell said. “The committee was really gung ho about it.”
Other ideas include assisting an Ireland-based nonprofit organization that has helped develop a graduate program for entrepreneurship and innovation, O’Connell added. The program has been in existence for about a year, but no one from the United States has enrolled in it. “They’ve brought people in from other countries, but no one from the United States,” he said.
As an incentive, O’Connell said he would like to see the commission explore a stipend program that could cover some of the housing costs of any Ohioan accepted into the course. “I’d like the first person from the U.S. in the program to be from Ohio,” he said.
O’Connell said the commission is still in its infancy and is finding its footing at the moment. However, the opportunities to further solidify ties with Ireland could be important to Ohio and the Mahoning Valley as well. His connections in Ireland associated with the AOH and other cultural and educational organizations are helpful assets when it comes to lobbying for Ohio, he added.
At present, O’Connell is not aware of any Irish companies located in the Youngstown-Warren region, with the exception of Aptiv, the former Delphi Packard operation that lists its headquarters in Dublin. Aptiv operates two plants in Warren and one in Vienna.
Nevertheless, northeastern Ohio is a prime region for Irish investment, and vice versa, O’Connell said. In 2023, for example, Cleveland Hopkins Airport launched direct flight service to Dublin.
Ireland Investment
Ireland has emerged as the fifth largest source of foreign direct investment in the United States, with $389 billion, according to Enterprise Ireland. Ireland was also the largest source of new investment spending in the U.S., with $30.1 billion.
Irish companies doing business in the U.S. cover industries such as information technology, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment manufacturing, energy and other disciplines.
In Ohio, Irish companies support more than 7,000 jobs, while Ohio companies employ more than 3,000 people in Ireland, according to an Instagram post from Keira Keogh, a member of the Irish Dail, comparable to a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. In 2024, Ohio imported $1.7 billion worth of goods from Ireland, while the Buckeye State exported $294 million worth of goods and another $1.6 billion in services to the Emerald Isle.
Keogh was McNally’s guest during a jam-packed schedule in Columbus last week, where she attended a meeting of the Ohio Ireland Trade Commission.
“Having an Irish deputy here was really beneficial,” McNally said, noting they met with advocacy and educational groups and received some business insights from Keogh.
“A lot of our industries overlap,” McNally said. “Especially in medical device manufacturing and the tech space. We’d love to have her back and continue the conversation.”
As of now, the commission is focused on measures that do not require legislation, McNally said. “We’ve been able to identify the low-hanging fruit,” she added.
Pressures such as tariff policy, she added, enhances the value of these trade commissions, as they maintain contacts and communication with prospective businesses. She said Mark Owens, the commission’s chair, recently returned from Ireland and met with companies interested in hosting a delegation from Ohio. Owens is also the first Irish Honorary Consul in Ohio and works for JobsOhio, the state’s private economic development arm.
“We’re a commission dedicated to just this,” McNally said. “Between Mark Owens and Danny [O’Connell] and their connections in Ireland, for example, we’re headed in a good direction.”
Pictured at top: From left are Danny O’Connell, Kiera Keogh and state Rep. Lauren McNally.