Kenny first world leader to visit Freedom Tower

The Taoiseach has become the first international leader to visit Freedom Tower — the under-construction building on the site of the Twin Towers which came down in the Sept 11 terrorist attacks.

Enda Kenny said the reconstruction was “symbolic of the path Ireland is taking” on its road to economic recovery. “It is a privilege to be here on Saint Patrick’s Day, 2013,” he said. “My understanding is that this is the first opportunity for a political leader to come this high.”

Eager to ensure his legacy remains in the building, he signed his name and the date on an iron girder of the 105th floor, as did his wife, Fionnuala, after which a heart was drawn between both names.

On Saturday, Mr Kenny marched down Fifth Avenue in the New York Saint Patrick’s Day parade where an estimated 2m people lined the streets. It followed a breakfast with mayor Michael Bloomberg, who he presented with an “emigrant’s teapot” which he said had sustained millions of Irish people who had made the journey to the US over the years.

Mr Bloomberg gave his backing to efforts to reform immigration laws, something that would help thousands of undocumented Irish in the city.

He said the Irish had come “from one of the smallest and poorest countries in Europe, they helped New York and America become great”.

“Immigrants have been writing the story of New York for centuries and it’s fair to say that no group has written it with more heartache and more humor than the Irish,” said Mr Bloomberg. “The challenge we face today is to make that true for all immigrants — Irish and everyone else — to make sure that they can continue to come here and pursue their dreams, and give us the impetus to go forward and keep developing with the times.

“We’re doing everything we can in Washington to fix our broken immigration system and hopefully we will get some progress on that. But if we don’t, then we don’t have the future we could have for our children. We need more immigrants, not less. We need immigrants from every part of the world. The more we welcome, the more our economy will benefit and he Irish economy will benefit as well if they come from Ireland.”

Mr Kenny will travel to Washington DC today, where he will be presented with an award at George Washington University. Tomorrow, he will meet president Barack Obama at the White House.