Joseph Kennedy III will take up his role as special envoy to Northern Ireland in the new year. Getty
As we turn the page to welcome 2023, here is our wish list for the new year dawning and the individuals who will be front and center.
Joseph Kennedy III
We wish you success as America’s new special envoy to Northern Ireland. Your appointment once more gives the most famous family in America another reason to return to Ireland and make a difference.
We have no doubt given the task it will be neither easy nor short-lived, but envoys like George Mitchell made all the difference before and you can do so again.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar
May your second term be as successful as your first but you face a set of daunting challenges in housing, health care, employment, and Northern Ireland.
A few years ago you were the youngest Irish leader ever, yet you proved you were up to the job and handled the Covid crisis extremely well. We hope you can do so again, especially in Northern Ireland.
Simon Coveney
Between Brexit, membership of the UN Security Council, Northern Ireland and trying to deal with outrageous arrogance from Boris Johnson among others, you never flinched in the face of daunting adversity and distinguished yourself as one of Ireland’s most assertive and decisive foreign affairs leaders. All the best in your new cabinet post.
Mary Lou McDonald
Will the Irish electorate soon be humming “Hello Mary Lou” and welcoming you as the country’s first female taoiseach? You have done a remarkable job building Sinn Fein, and while we may not know the answer to the question of leadership in 2023 as the next election is very likely 2024, by year's end we will have a fair idea. Keep on going on and let not the voices of the partitionists dissuade you.
Joe Biden
They are desperate to undermine you because of your amazing successes in your first two years – holding NATO together, passing a massive infrastructure bill, and bringing the pandemic under control just to mention a few achievements.
If, as your opponents claim, you are senile then we all should be that way too. You succeeded in changing election law, bringing down the price of drugs and you blew the opposition away by your midterm election tour de force.
Lead on, Mr. President, and never let your opponents define your historic presidency. And thanks for finally appointing Joe Kennedy as special envoy to Northern Ireland. American input is badly needed.
Liz Cheney
When history is written you will emerge as one of the greatest patriots of all, instantly aware of the danger Donald Trump posed to democracy and bravely standing against the minions of the defeated president who wanted to gloss over January 6.
By standing alone you knew your political defeat was inevitable, yet you carried on regardless and kept the flag of democracy flying. You will be a player in 2023.
Elon Musk
Stop trying to out-trumpet Trump with a hairy scheme every few days and pretending you know what you are doing at Twitter. You don't, your ego is out of control and you are chasing shadows. Sell Twitter in a fire sale if necessary and get back to what you did so well, building rockets and electric cars.
Lionel Messi
Thank you, thank you for showing such genius and exhibiting such class as you almost single-handedly won the World Cup for Argentina. Do not retire. You are ageless with the skills you possess.
A dollar to a dime says you are in the next Argentina World Cup squad at age 39 to play in the U.S. in 2026.
Happy New Year!
*This editorial first appeared in the December 28 edition of the weekly Irish Voice newspaper, sister publication to IrishCentral