They wanted to understand one thing and were nervous about two things, my American visitors.

That adage, out of sight, out of mind, can be as much an admonishment as a recognition that something once pressing may have receded from the frontline of public consciousness.

So that’s nearly Wednesday wrapped up. Here’s some of the stories we published on irishexaminer.com today which we hope will help you make sense of it all this evening.

One flight was forced to divert to Cork Airport while others were placed in holding patterns because of restrictions associated with the departure of the jet carrying the US Vice President this morning.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has suffered a double blow after it emerged Britain is seeking to renege on its commitments to protect the all-Ireland economy and US vice- president Mike Pence called on Ireland and the EU to respect the UK’s right to leave.

A United Airlines aircraft that turned back from its Atlantic crossing yesterday due to a technical fault was sent out over Dublin Bay as a delaying tactic rather than landing immediately in Dublin Airport.

So, it is finally happening.

Mike Pence loves Ireland and why wouldn’t he? Back home, nobody pays him a blind bit of notice as he cowers in the shadow of Donald Trump. He drops in here for a flying visit and he’s a big deal with everybody.

"Call me Leo," the Taoiseach said as he welcomed American vice president Mike Pence to Farmleigh House.

Last-minute security sweeps are being carried out in Doonbeg Co Clare as the village is locked down while US Vice-President Mike Pence dines with relatives at a local restaurant this evening.

“Today was a both a celebration of who we are in Ireland now"

US vice president Mike Pence has firmly put his support behind Boris Johnson calling on Ireland and the EU to "negotiate in good faith" on Brexit.

The Government will today announce further no-deal Brexit contingency plans as speculation mounts that Britain is heading towards a general election.

So that’s nearly Monday wrapped up. Here’s some of the stories we published on irishexaminer.com today which we hope will help you make sense of it all this evening.

The Vice President’s trip comes three months after Mr Trump visited Ireland for the first time as president.

US vice-president Mike Pence will be met at Shannon Airport by Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney and Mayor of Clare Councillor Cathal Crowe

Garda chiefs have laid bare to the Department of Justice the consequences of not providing special budgets for high-level visits to Ireland.

US vice-president Mike Pence looks set to arrive in Ireland four days ahead of originally scheduled and is now likely to land at Shannon Airport on Monday.

Gardaí are warning that the cost of the upcoming visit of American vice-president Mike Pence will compromise the safety and security of Irish citizens.

US vice president Mike Pence will insist that Britain must "uphold the Good Friday agreement" regardless of the Brexit crisis when he visits Ireland on September 6 and 7, the White House has confirmed.

US Vice President Mike Pence will travel to Ireland next month on behalf of President Donald Trump, the White House has confirmed.

Mr Pence was invited to Ireland by the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar in March during a St Patrick’s Day event in the US.

Already stretched garda budgets must not be used to pay for the recent visit of US president Donald Trump and the planned upcoming visit of his vice-president Mike Pence, Fianna Fáil has warned.

More than 6,000 patients are waiting for home-help hours and support causing delays to hospital discharges and take up beds in acute facilities.

US vice-president Mike Pence is expected to visit Ireland this year.

Mike Pence, US vice-president, is to visit this country in September, it has been confirmed.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said that he will ask US president Donald Trump not to agree a new free trade deal with the UK if it undermines peace on the island of Ireland.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar will raise the issue of equality of opportunity for women with US president Donald Trump during a White House meeting next week.

The president tweeted that he had said ‘bye-bye’ after his opponents said they would not fund his border wall.

US President Donald Trump has cancelled the June 12 summit with North Korea's Kim Jong Un, citing "tremendous anger and open hostility" in a recent statement.

The North did not invite international inspectors to the ceremony, which limits its value as a serious concession.

The National Rifle Association has banned its members from carrying their firearms during its annual forum while US President Donald Trump and his deputy Mike Pence are in attendance.

Latest: Mike Pence has told Leo Varadkar his partner, Matthew Barrett, would be welcome in his home next year.

LGBT rights will be on the agenda as the Taoiseach meets with US Vice President Mike Pence this morning.

In an extraordinary show of unexpected unity, North and South Korea sat side by side yesterday under exploding fireworks that represented peace, not destruction, as the 2018 Winter Olympics opened on a Korean Peninsula riven by generations of anger,

US vice president Mike Pence is using his appearance at the Winter Olympics to call on the international community to get tougher on North Korea's nuclear ambitions and human rights abuses.

The US is preparing to announce the "toughest and most aggressive" economic sanctions against North Korea, boosting pressure on the regime during the Winter Olympics, Mike Pence has said.

This week’s events in Washington raise questions relevant to the security of democracy. 

United States vice-president Mike Pence walked out of an NFL game today after several players took a knee during the national anthem prior to kick-off.

Latest: President Donald Trump has offered reassurances to Texans who felt the wrath of Storm Harvey, promising residents during a visit to the state: "We are going to get you back and operating immediately."

President Donald Trump's plan to end the stalemate in Afghanistan and eliminate the rising extremist threat involves sending up to 3,900 additional US forces, senior officials said.

US vice president Mike Pence is meeting people who have fled from Venezuela to Colombia as he seeks to draw attention to a deepening political crisis under Nicolas Maduro.

US vice president Mike Pence has condemned the Charlottesville violence, saying "these dangerous fringe groups" have no place in American public life.

US vice president Mike Pence has tried to strike a balance between Latin American opposition to US military intervention in neighbouring Venezuela, and his boss Donald Trump's assertion that action is an option.