US senate approves nomination of Claire Cronin to be next ambassador to Ireland

The United States senate has approved the nomination of Claire Cronin, a lawyer and politician from Massachusetts, to be the next ambassador to Ireland.

Ms Cronin had been put forward for the role by US president Joe Biden last July.

The US senate confirmed the nomination in a voice vote on Saturday.

Her nomination had been supported by the Senate Foreign Relations committee last October.

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Ms Cronin is currently a representative and Majority Leader in the state legislature of Massachusetts.

A lawyer, she campaigned for Mr Biden in his run for the presidency.

Appearing at a confirmation hearing in September before the Senate Foreign Relations committee, Ms Cronin said her grandfather came to the United States from Donegal and her sister-in-law was born and raised in Dublin.

At her Senate confirmation hearing she said, if approved, she planned to “engage in productive and cooperative dialogue to resolve differences over the Northern Ireland protocol” agreed between the EU and the British government.

She said Ireland was one of the United States’ strongest and largest trade and investment partners. She said that 900 US firms operated in Ireland while it was the nation is the ninth largest investor in America.

She pledged to promote the US as an investment opportunity for Irish companies and support increased trade to create jobs both in America and in Ireland.