US President Joe Biden is planning to visit Ireland for a six-day trip at the end of April to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.
Senior sources have confirmed that “high-level talks” are currently underway between the US State Department, the White House, the Irish Embassy and the Irish Government to facilitate the homecoming of America’s most Irish President since John F Kennedy.
A “high-level delegation,” that could involve former US President Bill and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, will accompany Mr Biden on the trip that will span at least four locations, it has been suggested. It is understood that an advance party from the Secret Service is planning their trip here to carry out the necessary security sweeps of locations.
The trip is expected to take place towards the end of April with final details and dates yet to be determined. Current indications suggest that President Biden will spend two days in Belfast and two in Dublin.
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It is expected he will spend two days on a private visit to see his family in Mayo, with work ongoing to include a visit to family in Louth too. The Mirror understands that Mr Biden wants to visit Ireland as a sitting President as there are fears that he may not be re-elected in the 2024 Presidential Election.
A trip home would be seen as a “swansong” for Mr Biden, one well-placed source said. Sources also said that progress on the Northern Irish Protocol this week has been widely welcomed as “America pushed hard to get this to happen” and they “are happy that a major leap forward has been agreed”.
The US was closely watching developments with the protocol and the Northern Ireland Assembly. A Government spokesman said: “The US President’s diary is a matter for the US President”.
However, Government sources told the Mirror that they did not expect Mr Biden to visit Ireland until the Protocol was decided or the Northern Irish Assembly was back up and running. But rumours have been rife in political circles for months that a US Presidential trip to Ireland was always on the cards.
US sources said as far back as September when then-Taoiseach Micheál Martin was at the UN General Assembly in New York that planning was underway. Mr Martin said the US President told him then that he “can’t wait to get back to Ireland.”
However, it was stressed that this was contingent on there being major progress on getting the Northern Protocol impasse resolved. That appears to be almost there now with the Windsor Framework offering a path forward and so the US visit preparations have been advanced to the final stages.
Previous to this, last year during their virtual conversation on St Patrick’s Day in Washington, Mr Martin again extended an invitation to visit Ireland. President Biden has repeatedly joked “try and stop me” since then.
The Democrat is immensely proud of his Irish roots, with acknowledged cousins traced to both Louth and Mayo. He visited both in 2015 and when in Ballina in Mayo, he movingly turned a sod at the hospice there in honour of his own son Beau, who had tragically predeceased him.
The US President will likely be glued to the conclusion of the Six Nations rugby championship on Saturday March 18th. President Biden is a cousin of Irish rugby legend Rob Kearney on the Louth side and will no doubt be cheering on Ireland when they take on England in the Aviva Stadium for what could be another historic Grand Slam clincher.
President Biden famously tweeted congratulations to his cousin on that famous day when Ireland first beat the All Blacks on Soldiers’ Field in Chicago in November 2016. He said: “Congrats to cousin @KearneyRob on behalf of the Bidens. @IrishRugby’s 1st win over New Zealand in 111 years. History made again in Chicago."
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