McAleese begins four-day trip to Latvia and Lithuania

The President, Mary McAleese, is beginning a four-day trip to the Baltics today, where she is visiting two of the EU's newest member states.

Latvia and Lithuania were among the 10 countries that joined the European Union during Ireland's presidency in 2004.

Thousands of their citizens have migrated to Ireland since then, making them two of the country's largest immigrant communities.

During her visit, Prof McAleese's will address gatherings organised by Enterprise Ireland in Riga and in Vilnius.