US President Joe Biden will visit Ireland in two weeks for a visit both north and south of the border.
The Irish Mirror reported earlier this month that the “most Irish President since John F Kennedy” would travel to Ireland in April to coincide with the 25th Anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.
We also reported that Irish officials had been warned that the trip could take place earlier than expected and that they should be on standby.
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It is now understood that Mr Biden will travel to Belfast on April 11. He will arrive in Dublin on Tuesday April 12 and will depart on Saturday April 15.
It is widely expected that during his trip here he will visit his ancestral homes in Mayo and Louth.
While it was expected that the US President could address the Dáil and Seanad during his trip, TDs and Senators will be on their easter break during the visit.
The Irish Mirror understands that there are “no plans at the moment” for this address.
Mr Biden will travel to Áras an Uachtáráin to visit President Michael D Higgins. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar will also host him for an engagement at Farmleigh Estate.
However, senior Government sources told the Irish Mirror that a lot of the details are up in the air and “nothing is confirmed until it is all confirmed”.
“It is all still in planning and nothing is fully decided,” they said.
“He is coming but there is nothing concrete.”
They added that while the expectation is that he will visit Mayo and Louth, there is nothing formally on the agenda.
They added: “There is a range of options but nothing is finalised”.
However, another senior source stressed that Mayo is a “strong likelihood”.
It is also expected that Mr Biden could make some sort of public address while he was here. The location of this is not confirmed and there is a lot of “speculation” about where it might be.
Sources also stressed that while there are a number of rumours going around about where Mr Biden may or may not be, a number of places have been scoped out but not everything will be on the final agenda.
Due to the heavy security presence required for any US President, it is expected that there will be “hundreds and hundreds” of people in his delegation.
During his trip to the White House for St Patrick’s Day, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar told the US President that people were already looking forward to his trip.
He said: “[I’m] really looking forward to your visit.
“I promise you that we're going to roll out the red carpet and it's going to be a visit like no other.
“Everyone's excited about it already. We're going to have great crowds who would love to see you.”
Following his visit to the Oval Office, Mr Varadkar told the Irish media that President Biden had not confirmed any details
At the St Patrick’s Day trip on Capitol Hill, Mr Biden spoke a “cúpla focal” as he reminisced about his last trip to Ireland.
“I stand here today as a descendant of the Blewitts of Co Mayo and the Finnegans of Co Louth,” he said.
“I was telling the Taoiseach I would, as Vice President, I’d always have a breakfast with the Taoiseach before he would go over to see the President.
“The seventh year, I think it was, the Taoiseach [Enda Kenny] went into the Oval, sat down and before Barrack [Obama] could and said ‘for God’s sake, Barrack, let the boy come home. Let him come home’.
“I swear to god, true story.
“You have to help me [Taoiseach] with the Gaelic expression, a hundred thousand welcomes.
“Céad mile fáilte.”
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