Heckler Hopes to Assist Peace Effort as Ambassador to Ireland

Newly appointed Ambassador to Ireland Margaret M. Heckler, forced to resign her Cabinet post for what President Reagan insisted was a promotion, said Monday she now agrees that her new job will be a challenge and that it is not the finale to her career.

At a news conference in her hometown, the 53-year-old former secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services said that she has a “unique window of opportunity” to help the peace process in Ireland because of a recently signed British-Irish accord.

“Ancient wounds that have produced so much bloodshed in Ireland potentially now can be healed,” said Heckler, who represented eastern Massachusetts for eight terms in Congress.

In June, she sold her 19th-Century Colonial home in Wellesley, a wealthy Boston suburb. But she said Monday that she would retain her voting address in Wellesley and refused to rule out future political office.

Predictions Difficult

“It will always be my home,” she said. “As for the future, it is very difficult to predict, but I do not consider this the finale for my career.

“I don’t have a crystal ball. I don’t have a long-range plan for what to do next. My love of public service is such I want to always be involved. That doesn’t mean political office, but I will be part of the political process in the future.”