DUBLIN – Governor Eric J. Holcomb and First Lady Janet Holcomb will continue their overseas trade mission with a stop in Ireland.
While in Ireland, Gov. Holcomb, Secretary of Commerce David Rosenberg will celebrate a direct flight from the Indianapolis International Airport to Dublin. The new Aer Lingus flight will begin in May of 2025 and will fly four times a week nonstop to Dublin.
“Indiana and Ireland share strong ties across our cultures and history, trade and industry – a partnership that only continues to grow,” said Gov. Holcomb. “This week, our delegation will work to foster those connections, discovering new opportunities to work together to advance the global life sciences ecosystem and create a more innovative, more prosperous future for our people across both regions.”
In Dublin, Gov. Holcomb will tour the Aer Lingus facilities and meet with leadership to celebrate the company’s new route and its planned presence in Indianapolis. The governor joined a press conference this morning at the Indianapolis International Airport via video to announce the new flight.
In Ireland, Gov. Holcomb and the delegation will visit Eli Lilly and Company’s manufacturing campus that specializes in producing active pharmaceutical ingredients for global supply. The Indiana-based company first invested in Ireland in 1978 and recently unveiled a new $800 million facility at Kinsale that will play a key role in Lilly’s global manufacturing network, alongside the company’s now $13 billion investment at the LEAP Research and Innovation District in Lebanon.
Gov. Holcomb and the delegation will meet with U.S. and Irish government officials, including representatives of the U.S. Embassy Dublin, to discuss opportunities to grow the Indiana-Ireland relationship. Indiana counts Ireland as its highest volume trade partner, benefiting from around $20 billion of trade in 2023. Indiana is home to 52 Ireland-based business facilities, supporting companies like Accenture, Allegion, Eaton Corporation, Ingersoll-Rand, Johnson Controls, Medtronic, Ostoform, Praxair, Schlage Lock Company, Trane and Wiistream, while Ireland hosts 11 Hoosier businesses, including Cook Group, Cummins, Elanco, Eli Lilly, Fort Wayne Metals and Company and Zimmer Biomet.
The governor and secretary will also pursue new partnerships across education and business In Dublin and Cork – Ireland’s second largest city. The delegation will visit Notre Dame Dublin at historic O’Connell House to meet with students and faculty, host an innovation and commerce roundtable with members of the American Chamber of Commerce Ireland. In Kinsale, Gov. Holcomb and Sec. Rosenberg, in conjunction with Lilly, will also host a workforce-focused university luncheon with stakeholders in Cork to discuss skills development and talent attraction and retention.
This continues Gov. Holcomb’s 26th international economic development trip as governor and marks his first official visit to Ireland. The cost of the governor’s travel is being paid through private donations to the Indiana Economic Development Foundation.
