SALT LAKE CITY — Ireland was nicknamed the “Celtic Tiger” in the 1990s because of its enthusiastic and aggressive efforts to attract companies — especially American companies — to its emerald shores. Thirty years later, it is a European economic powerhouse and is still effectively courting businesses from across the globe.
It’s one of the reasons a group of Utah business and government leaders, led by Gov. Spencer Cox and organized by World Trade Center Utah and the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, embarked on a trade mission to Ireland this week.
So far they’ve met with U.S. Ambassador to Ireland Edward Walsh, a businessman and avid golfer from New Jersey, and embassy staffers in an off-the-record briefing.
The delegation has also heard from Irish leaders in business and government about why the island-country at the western edge of Europe is the gateway for Americans to the rest of the European Union and beyond.
Cox met with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin on Wednesday, where they discussed Utah and Ireland’s existing trade and research partnerships as well as new opportunities. At the meeting they also discussed efforts to limit the harm technology has on children and other policies that support family well-being.
Utah and Ireland share things in common, including positives like a strong entrepreneurial culture, but also the challenges that come with rapid growth, including spiking housing costs.
Ireland is one of the smaller countries in the European Union, with only about 5½ million people, and Utah covers almost three times as many square miles. But it boasts an extensive list of European headquarters of large American companies, including Google, Meta and Apple.
An example of Ireland’s reach came late Thursday as the delegation made their way by bus from Dublin to Galway, when former U.S. senator and ambassador Jeff Flake, who is chairman of the board for World Trade Center Utah, ran into Maine Gov. Janet Mills at a truck stop McDonald’s. She was also leading a trade mission to Ireland.
Utah trade mission comes at turbulent time
The trip to Ireland by Utah’s delegation — which included business representatives from the tech, life sciences, energy, quantum and research sectors — comes at an interesting time for transatlantic trade and partnerships, as the ties binding the United States and Europe are under strain as President Donald Trump and members of his administration question whether old alliances should stand.
The strain at the national and global level makes it all the more important for state and local leaders to continue to build and maintain relationships, Cox insisted while speaking at a reception Wednesday night.
After “bragging” about Utah to the Irish business and community leaders, Cox addressed the challenging climate.
“Of course, there are wars in Europe and in the Middle East. There are trade wars happening all across the globe,” he said. “And because of that, I think the subnational relationships matter more than they maybe ever have, at least in my lifetime. … It’s why we come here.”
Flake echoed Cox’s assessment in an interview with the Deseret News.
“We’ve had periods over the past century, over the past couple of centuries, where you’ve seen more isolationism, more protectionism, but we always go back to robust international trade, because that’s what makes countries more prosperous,” he said. “‘When goods cross borders, troops don’t’ — that’s not always true, but it is more true than not. So, increased prosperity, increased peace, that’s what globalization brings — cheaper goods, higher standard of living — that’s been the case and I think we’ll get back to it.”
Ireland already home to several Utah businesses
Many Utah businesses, including Qualtrics, Ancestry.com and Merit Medical, already have a presence in Ireland, and they are some of the country’s biggest ambassadors, touting the educated workforce, business-friendly government agencies and easier access to the rest of Europe.
There are sticking points – the labor force is tight, cost of living is high and EU regulations can be onerous — but as an entry point to global trade, the Utah businesses that already have a presence in Ireland tout its selling points.
That includes Merit Medical Systems, headquartered in South Jordan, Utah, which first opened a manufacturing facility in Ireland in 1993, and now has more than a thousand employees there.
Erin Barry, vice president of government affairs for Merit and a member of the Utah trade delegation, said her company credits their presence in Ireland with its international reach.
“Merit wouldn’t be the global company it is without our presence in Ireland and the support that we have received from IDA,” she said, referring to Ireland’s foreign investment promotion agency. “I think also, Merit has done a great job of letting the world know how great Ireland is in terms of an international investment.”
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