Joe Biden will land in Northern Ireland on Tuesday for a two-day visit to the region.
The US president, who often speaks of his Irish heritage, will celebrate the signing of the Good Friday Agreement 25 years ago before crossing the border into the Republic of Ireland to visit Louth, Dublin and Mayo.
While some details of his trip are being kept under wraps for security reasons, the White House released official travel plans at a briefing on Monday.
Here’s where he’ll be and what you need to know about what he’ll be doing every day.
Tuesday
Biden is expected to board Air Force One early Tuesday morning from Joint Base Andrews near Washington.
After a seven-hour flight across five time zones, he lands at Belfast International Airport on Tuesday evening UK time.
Upon arrival at the airport, the leader is met by Rishi Sunak. No details were given about the evening’s plans.
Wednesday
The first item on Joe Biden’s agenda for Wednesday is a bilateral meeting with Rishi Sunak to pressure him to strengthen economic ties between the UK and the US after Brexit, despite his opposition to a free trade agreement.
It is not yet clear if he will find time to visit Stormont and meet with Northern Ireland party leaders as power sharing in the region is still on hold due to the YUP boycott.
Biden’s only known public event in Belfast is a visit to the newly opened Ulster University Belfast campus, where he will talk about the “tremendous progress” made since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement 25 years ago.
“This will highlight the United States’ willingness to sustain these gains and support the enormous economic potential of Northern Ireland for the benefit of all communities,” said US Secretary of State John Kirby.
After the speech, Mr. Biden expected to make the 65-mile journey to the Irish border, tracing his ancestry back to Colaut.
Biden’s great-grandfather James Finegan was born in Louth before the family “crossed the sea to start a new life in America,” according to the White House.
On Wednesday evening he plans to visit Dundalk and Carlingford, not far from the village where his ancestors come from. He is planning a Dundalk “walk” and a tour of Carlingford Castle, built in the 12th century.
Biden is then expected to travel to Dublin and stay overnight.
Thursday
On Thursday, he will meet Ireland’s President Michael D. Higgins, the 81-year-old statesman, who will take part in a tree-planting ceremony and the ringing of the Peace Bell at the president’s official residence, Aras an Ouakhtarain. Phoenix Park in Dublin is closed to make visiting easier
He will then meet Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to “discuss our close collaboration on a range of common global issues.”
After the meetings, he will travel to Leinster House to address a joint meeting of the Oireachtas (Irish Parliament) on US-Irish cooperation “to advance democracy, peace, security and prosperity”.
On Thursday evening, Biden will attend a banquet at Dublin Castle.
Friday
Mr Biden will continue in the footsteps of his ancestors on the final day of his trip when he visits Co Mayo in western Ireland, where another branch of his family traces its lineage.
The leader, a prominent Catholic, will tour the Shrine of Our Lady Nok, a pilgrimage site and sanctuary known to be associated with the apparition of the Virgin Mary.
He then visits the Family History Research Unit of the North Mayo Heritage and Genealogy Center.
The President of the United States will then address St. Muredach’s Cathedral in Ballina. Built in the 1840s, the cathedral is said to contain 27,000 bricks sold by Biden’s great-great-grandfather, Edward Blewitt, an entrepreneur who used the proceeds to fund his family’s 1851 trip to America.
“The President looks forward to this trip and the opportunity to celebrate the deep historical bonds that continue to divide our people,” Kirby said.
Source: I News
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