WASHINGTON — Senator Ed Markey, House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark, and Representative Richard Neal are joining President Biden’s presidential trip to Ireland, the White House and their offices confirmed Wednesday.
It will be a significant trip for the delegation, both in terms of the politics involved and the personal backgrounds of the politicians on the trip.
Biden’s trip began with a stop in Belfast on Wednesday, where the president spoke with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of the United Kingdom and commemorated the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, also known as the Belfast Agreement.
The historic deal brought an end to The Troubles, three decades of violent conflict in Northern Ireland between overwhelmingly Protestant unionists who wished to see Northern Ireland stay within the United Kingdom and predominantly Roman Catholic nationalists who wanted it to become part of the Republic of Ireland. The agreement set up a new power-sharing government representing both groups. Biden then spent time in Ireland tracing his family roots.
Markey, Clark, and Neal are joining Biden on the Ireland leg of the trip as part of an eight-member congressional delegation.
As Massachusetts lawmakers, the trio represent one of the most Irish states in the country; 19.8 percent of Massachusetts residents claim Irish ancestry, according to US Census data.
The three Democrats also carry strong Irish-American identities of their own with them overseas.
Clark, of Revere, who represents a district that has one of the largest Irish American populations in the state and country, has heritage on her mother’s side in County Derry in Aghadowey, according to her office. Her great great uncle emigrated to New York and joined the state’s Irish Brigade, before dying at Gettysburg in 1863.
Both sides of Markey’s family are also Irish and hail from County Kerry and County Monaghan, respectively.
Last month, the Democratic senator joined 11 colleagues in introducing a resolution to designate March 2023 as Irish-American Heritage Month to honor the community’s contributions.
This trip isn’t the first time Markey has joined a congressional delegation to visit the region. In November 1995, he accompanied President Clinton to Ireland and Northern Ireland. In 2012, he traveled with then-Speaker of House Nancy Pelosi and six other senators to Ireland to discuss security cooperation and renewable energy.
Markey frequently references his Irish roots and has also noted the personal impact that the first Irish-Catholic US president, John F. Kennedy, had on his life.
As an Irish-Catholic child in Malden, Markey told The Associated Press in 2013, he remembers hearing how Kennedy was “too Irish” and “too Catholic” to be elected president. When Kennedy won, Markey said it was an inspiration.
“In his inaugural address, he said that public service was an opportunity to do God’s work here on Earth,” Markey told AP at the time. “He not only inspired me but inspired a whole generation to think of public service.”
Kennedy went on to visit Ireland in 1963, which he told aides were the best four days of his life. Biden follows in his footsteps, as the second Irish-Catholic president visiting the country.
Like Markey, Neal, of Springfield, traveled with Pelosi to the region in 2019. On that trip, he received an honorary degree from Ulster University, which Biden addressed Wednesday.
Neal has said the 2019 trip was meant to send a strong message to the British government that there would be no trade deal between the United States and the United Kingdom if there was “a return to a hard border on the island of Ireland.”
In a statement Monday, Neal noted the significance of the Good Friday Agreement.
“I have no doubt that my ancestors, who instilled a deep and emotional connection to this country, would be proud of the Ireland we have today,” said the Democratic congressman, who is co-chair of the Friends of Ireland Caucus.
The Massachusetts cohort and Biden face a delicate political environment. Northern Ireland has been without a functioning government for more than a year amid a trade dispute following Brexit. The Northern Ireland Assembly has not met, and executive cabinet posts remain vacant.
A new accord between the European Union and United Kingdom called the Windsor Framework seeks to ease tensions on issues that arose around commerce and goods sent from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
Markey joined a cohort of senators Monday in cosponsoring a resolution that commemorates the Good Friday Agreement’s 25th anniversary, affirming support for its full implementation and that of subsequent agreements, such as the Windsor Framework, that advance peace.
Before boarding Air Force One on Tuesday morning, Biden said his top priority for the trip was to ensure the stability of the Good Friday Agreement and Windsor Framework to “keep the peace.”
“It looks like we’re going to — keep your fingers crossed,” Biden said.
Jorja Siemons can be reached at jorja.siemons@globe.com. Follow her @JorjaSiemons.