Joe Biden looks set to make his first visit to Northern Ireland since becoming US President — making him the fourth serving American leader to land on our shores.
British officials are preparing to welcome Mr Biden to the UK for a State Visit next year.
While a visit to Northern Ireland has not been explicitly proposed, the President is understood to want to come to Britain to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, which brought peace to the region.
Read more: Hopes Joe Biden set for Belfast as part of UK Good Friday Agreement anniversary tour
No date has been set but the trip is pencilled in to coincide with the anniversary of the peace pact that ended 30 years of violence in the province.
Mr Biden has repeatedly highlighted his Irish roots, which stretch from the Cooley peninsula on the east coast of Ireland to the Co Mayo town of Ballina in the west.
The current US president joins a long line of his predecessors who have kept a keen eye on developments in Northern Ireland.
One of Mr Biden’s predecessors as a Democratic President, Bill Clinton was the first serving US leader to visit Northern Ireland in 1995 where he was mobbed by fans.
He stayed at the Europa Hotel which, during the Troubles, was known as the “most bombed hotel in Europe”. It was bombed 36 times during the conflict.
George W. Bush also visited Northern Ireland in 2008.
In 2013, Barack Obama and his family paid a visit as part of the G8 summit. The president addressed an audience at the Waterfront Hall before heading to Co Fermanagh for the talks with global leaders.
Amid hopes that Joe Biden is set for Belfast as part of a UK tour, we look back at other US Presidents’ trips to Northern Ireland.
Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton and his family first came on a three-day visit to Britain and Northern Ireland in November 1995, three years before his input into politics here led to the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.
The former US President arrived in Northern Ireland on November 30 and during the trip, he visited a number of areas in Belfast and also Derry, Armagh and Omagh.
He managed to squeeze in a lot of appearances during his visit - from talks with Belfast entrepreneurs and managers at the East Belfast Enterprise Park, to delivering his speech at the Mackie Metal Plant - listened to by local schoolchildren David Sterrett and Catherine Hamill who gave their own moving speeches about peace.
Clinton also made time to visit residents of the Falls and Shankill Road, showing his genuine interest in the local people and the peace process.
The visit also saw the Clintons switch on the Christmas lights outside Belfast City Hall. Clinton has returned many times, most recently in 2018 for the 20th Anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.
Barack Obama
President Obama's attendance at the 39th annual G8 Summit in Northern Ireland included stop-offs in Belfast and Enniskillen in June 2013.
Mr Obama, who visited the Republic of Ireland in 2011 but was on his first trip north of the border, gave a rousing address to some 2,000 people - mostly young students - at Belfast's Waterfront Hall.
He travelled to Belfast with his wife Michelle and daughters Sasha and Malia. A massive policing operation surrounded the visit - part of the wider security efforts aimed a delivering a secure G8 summit at the Lough Erne Golf Resort in Co Fermanagh.
Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness, the first and deputy first ministers of the Stormont power-sharing Executive, greeted the US President on arrival at the Waterfront and held a brief private meeting before Mr Obama's public address.
The First Lady introduced her husband on stage after herself being welcomed to the podium by 16-year-old Belfast schoolgirl Hannah Nelson from Methodist College.
Air Force One had touched down at Aldergrove International Airport, 20 miles north of the city, at 8.35am amid one of the biggest security operations ever mounted in Northern Ireland. He was flown by Marine One helicopter to George Best Belfast City Airport and then travelled by road to the Waterfront.
Thousands of extra police officers were deployed in the region ahead of the G8 summit, including 3,600 from forces in England and Wales.
George W Bush
George Bush arrived in Northern Ireland on Air Force One for a one-day visit in June 2008.
During his visit, Mr Bush discussed investment issues and the devolution of policing and justice with first and deputy first ministers, Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness, and said the progress made in Northern Ireland over the past 10 years was unimaginable.
Mr Bush also met Taoiseach Brian Cowen and former first minister Ian Paisley, with whom he exchanged gifts.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his wife, Sarah, also travelled to Belfast to meet Mr Bush and his wife, Laura.
Mrs Brown later accompanied Mrs Bush to a community project in the city where they met young people involved in cross community work across Northern Ireland.
One of the final stops on the presidential party's schedule was to Loughview Integrated Primary School in Castlereagh, where they met pupils and some of the champions of integrated education.
Earlier, several hundred people demonstrated in Belfast city centre against Mr Bush's visit to Northern Ireland. Some climbed to the roof of the city hall and erected an Iraqi flag in protest against the Iraq war.
READ NEXT:
Energy bill support package for Northern Ireland - what you need to know
- NI Electoral Office preparing for potential snap Stormont Assembly election in December
Alliance's Naomi Long 'won't claim expenses' for trip to see Queen lying in state
For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here. To sign up to our FREE newsletters, see here.
