Kennedy dynasty special envoy to Northern Ireland urged to leave 'Irish-American bias' at home

The Ulster Unionist peer was commenting after a US Government official confirmed that former congressman Joe Kennedy will be formally announced as the new envoy within days.

Joseph Kennedy III is the grandson of former US attorney general Robert F Kennedy and the son of the strongly pro Irish nationalist ex congressman Joseph P Kennedy II.

• Scroll down for more, including an editorial on this appointment

Lord Empey said "there is always a nervousness" within unionism when influential figures in the US become directly involved in Northern Ireland affairs - in part due to previous “toxic” interventions from pressure groups such as the Irish National Caucus.

"A balanced approach is more likely to produce that positive result than somebody coming here with a pro-nationalist bias,” Lord Empey said.​​​​​

The US Government has moved to assuage unionist concerns – saying that the new envoy’s sole focus will be on the economy, with no intention of interfering in political matters.

A US official who is familiar with the matter told the News Letter: "The purpose and the writ and responsibility of the envoy is to focus on ways to enhance and strengthen Northern Ireland's economic development for everyone.

"It doesn't have anything to do with the politics of nationalism or unionism - not at all.”

The US official added: "I appreciate that people think about who he his and the history of what the family name is, but focus on what he is going to do, and what the US Government wants for Northern Ireland, which is peace and economic prosperity for all its communities.”

Lord Empey said: "President Biden has made it very clear that he is particularly proud of his Irish heritage so I wouldn't say there is any huge surprise in the likelihood of the appointment but, what I think unionists will be looking for is to see if there a genuine willingness to listen to the counter Irish-American argument.

"The Clinton administration opened its doors more to unionism than previous Democratic administrations, and I would like to think that the same would be possible.

"The new envoy should have a conversation with Senator [George] Mitchell before they arrive, because he knows who the system works, and he knows that you will only get progress here if all sections of the community are on the same page."

Lord Empey said it was important to point out that around half of those in the US who claim some form of Irish descent actually come from Ulster-Scots heritage, but that the Ulster-Scots connection "tends to be forgotten".

Lord Empey added: "I would hope that [a new envoy] would give equality to those of the unionist tradition, and not simply be a mirror image of Irish republicanism."

Commenting on potential influence of the US envoy in Northern Ireland politics, Lord Empey said: "An envoy can do good if that envoy is balanced, and sees that there are two points of view here that need to be addressed, not one.

"I would also say, that with the re-emergence of Leo Varadkar as taoiseach, the same would apply to him, because his role in the earlier stages of the protocol negotiations has done huge damage to the relationship with unionism.”

​• Editorial: US envoy will have to prove that he is not biased against unionists