Bird to proceed over Ireland and England initially (9)
I believe the answer is:
passerine
'bird' is the definition.
(passerine is a kind of bird)
'proceed over ireland and england initially' is the wordplay.
'proceed' becomes 'pass' (I've seen this before**).
'over' is a reversal indicator.
'ireland' becomes 'ire'.
'and' becomes 'n' (common abbreviation for 'and').
'initially' suggests taking the first letters.
The initial letter of 'england' is 'e'.
'ire' backwards is 'eri'.
'pass'+'eri'+'n'+'e'='PASSERINE'
'to' is the link.
(Other definitions for passerine that I've seen before include "Sort of bird" , "Like the majority of birds, with feet for perching" .)