US admiral pays secret visit to Cork

The head of the US Coast Guard (USCG) has made a whistle-stop visit to Ireland amid tight security.

In a visit shrouded in secrecy, Admiral Robert J Papp, one of America’s four joint chiefs of staff, slipped into Cork Airport on Sunday night on board the USCG’s Learjet.

The four-star admiral and 24th Commandant of the USCG, who leads the largest component of the Department of Homeland Security, then spent most of the day in — and above — Cork, getting a taste of the State’s naval, air corps, and maritime rescue services.