Joe Biden to address Oireachtas as details of trip to Ireland confirmed
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US President Joe Biden is coming to Ireland next week, the Taoiseach has confirmed.
Leo Varadkar on Wednesday confirmed the worst-kept secret in Ireland, confirming that he will visit the country next week.
Mr Biden will be in Belfast on April 11, before travelling to the Republic the following day where he will stay until April 14.
As part of his visit, Mr Biden will hold various engagements, including in Dublin, Co Louth and Co Mayo, where he will deliver an address "to celebrate the deep, historic ties that link our countries and people," said a White House statement.
His visit to Belfast will "mark the tremendous progress since the signing of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement 25 years ago".
Mr Biden will also address a sitting of the Oireachtas, following in the footsteps of former president John F Kennedy.
The speech to TDs and Senators will take place next Thursday in Leinster House, with sources saying it is likely to be held around 2pm.
The decision will necessitate the recall of the Dáil and Seanad by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.
The president can trace his ancestry to Ireland’s west and east coasts, specifically Ballina in Co Mayo and the Cooley Peninsula in Co Louth.
His great-great-grandfather Owen Finnegan emigrated to the United States from the Cooley peninsula while another great-great-grandfather, Patrick Blewitt, was born in Ballina, leaving during the famine in 1850 to sail to America.
Speaking on Wednesday, the Taoiseach said: “I am delighted that President Biden will pay a visit to Ireland. It will be a privilege and a special moment to welcome him back as President of the United States.
“When we spoke recently in the White House, President Biden was clear that in celebrating the Good Friday Agreement, we should be looking ahead, not backwards. We need to continue working together as true partners to fulfil the potential of all the people who call this island their home.
“His visit is an opportunity to celebrate and renew the strong political, economic and personal ties that bind our two countries together. Above all, it is an opportunity to welcome a great Irish-American President home.”
A White House statement added that "additional information about the trip will be forthcoming".
Recently, Mr Biden made clear an increase in activity by violent dissident republicans opposed to the peace process in Northern Ireland would not deter him.
“No. They can’t keep me out,” he told reporters.
Last month, Mr Varadkar told the president that his trip to the island of Ireland would be “a visit like no other”.
“I promise you that we’re going to roll out the red carpet,” he pledged to Mr Biden during their St Patrick’s Day meeting in Washington DC.
White House officials and Secret Service personnel have already visited proposed locations as part of planning for the visit.
Former US president Bill Clinton and his wife and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton will be in Belfast the week after Mr Biden for more events to commemorate the landmark accord that largely ended the Troubles.
Other key figures involved in securing the deal are also due to travel to the city.