Former U.S. Special Envoy to Northern Ireland Joe Kennedy III and former Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald will lead a discussion on the future of the transatlantic relationship in New York on Wednesday, November 4, just hours after Americans go to the polls in the midterm elections.
The conversation will headline the inaugural Transatlantic Policy Breakfast hosted by Ceannas House, a new nonprofit founded by Northern Irish peace campaigner Emma DeSouza and chaired by Armagh-born, New York-based entrepreneur Jane McCooey.
Taking place at the Penn Club of New York, the breakfast, said a release, will bring together speakers from politics, business, public policy and the arts, alongside members of New York's Irish-American community. A limited number of tickets are available to the public.
Kennedy, who served as U.S. Special Envoy to Northern Ireland from 2022 to 2024, will be joined by Fitzgerald, a former Irish Minister for Justice, Tánaiste and Member of the European Parliament.
Their discussion will consider the direction of U.S.–European relations following the midterms, Ireland's place in that relationship, and the challenges facing transatlantic cooperation.
The program also features Margaret Crotty, Chair of Northwell Health and former President and CEO of JSI, in a discussion on leadership in a changing world. The conversation will be moderated by Margaret Molloy, a New York-based global marketing executive.
Belfast-born artist Marcus Robinson, whose work documenting the rebuilding of the World Trade Center has received international recognition, will join McCooey for a conversation on art, memory and social cohesion.
The next generation of leadership will also feature, with Donal Griffin and Matthew O'Neill, alumni of the Northern Ireland Emerging Leaders Program, discussing their experiences and the importance of creating opportunities for emerging leaders to contribute to public policy.
The breakfast marks the official New York launch of Ceannas House, described as an independent nonprofit established to strengthen democracy, support civic leadership, and advance international peace building.
Founded by DeSouza, whose landmark citizenship and human rights campaign changed UK law, the organization will work across the United States and the island of Ireland with a particular focus on developing new approaches to public participation and creating opportunities for the next generation of leaders.
DeSouza said the decision to launch with a program spanning politics, policy, business and culture was deliberate.
"The relationship between Ireland and the United States has never been confined to politics. It has been shaped by people working across business, culture, education and civic life, and those relationships continue to matter.
"We wanted our first event to reflect that, while also creating space for a serious discussion about where the transatlantic relationship goes next.
"The timing, coming the morning after the U.S. midterms, makes that conversation particularly relevant. We're delighted to have Joe Kennedy and Frances Fitzgerald leading it, alongside speakers who bring very different experiences and perspectives to the room.
"Ceannas House is about taking those relationships forward, investing in emerging leaders and ensuring that the lessons of our own peace process continue to have relevance beyond Northern Ireland."
DeSouza, continued the release, established Ceannas House alongside McCooey, founder of Women with Ambition, and who serves as chair of its board. Both women are originally from Northern Ireland and bring experience spanning business, public policy, leadership development and civic engagement.
The founding board also includes Professor Martin Flaherty, Dr. Christine Ryan and Erin O'Donnell.
The launch follows the establishment of the organization's Transatlantic Leaders Fellowship, which welcomed its first cohort of nine emerging and mid-career professionals from Northern Ireland and Ireland in September.
The fully sponsored program provides leadership development, mentorship and opportunities to engage directly with policymakers and senior figures across the United States and Ireland.
Fellows are developing policy proposals on issues ranging from democratic reform and economic development to health inequalities, violence against women and girls, and the retention of young talent.
Their program includes engagements in Belfast, Dublin, New York and Washington, D.C., with the Fellows due to travel to the United States in February 2027.
The Fellowship builds on DeSouza's previous work as Director of the Northern Ireland Emerging Leaders Program at the National Committee on American Foreign Policy.
Alongside its leadership programs, Ceannas House will undertake work on deliberative democracy and international peace building, drawing on Northern Ireland's experience of conflict resolution and democratic change.
The Ceannas House Transatlantic Policy Breakfast takes place on Wednesday, November 4, from 8:30am to 10:30am at the Penn Club of New York in Midtown Manhattan. Individual tickets are priced at $125 and a limited number are available. See https://www.eventbrite.com/e/transatlantic-policy-breakfast-tickets-2002380164976. More information at www.ceannashouse.org.
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