Biden visit a chance for country to 'welcome home a son of Ireland', says Taoiseach

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar shakes hands with US president Joe Biden during a St Patrick's Day celebration reception at the White House in Washington, DC, during the Taoiseach's visit to the US for St Patrick's Day. Picture: Niall Carson/PA Wire

US president Joe Biden's visit to Dublin, Mayo, Louth, and Belfast is designed to "welcome home a son of Ireland", the Taoiseach has said.

Mr Biden will be in Belfast on April 11, before travelling to the Republic the following day, where he will stay until April 14. The trip will close with a public speech on Friday evening outside St Muredach's Cathedral, Ballina, Co Mayo.

As part of his visit, Mr Biden will hold various engagements, including in Dublin, in Co Louth, and in Co Mayo, where he will deliver an address "to celebrate the deep, historic ties that link our countries and people", according to a White House statement.

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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 US presidents. 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. Mr Biden will become the fourth president of the United States to address the Oireachtas, following John F Kennedy on June 28, 1963, Ronald Reagan on June 4, 1984, and Bill Clinton on December 1, 1995.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar at a bilateral meeting with President Joe Biden at the White House. Picture: Niall Carson/PA Wire

Speaking as the visit was made official on Wednesday, Mr Varadkar said that Mr Biden had been a "great friend to Ireland" and the visit allowed the chance to "celebrate and renew the strong political, economic, and personal ties that bind our two countries together".

"I think that the number one objective of President Biden's visit to Ireland is to welcome a son of Ireland home, to welcome home a great Irish-American president, and to cement and strengthen that really good relationship that we have at the moment with the US," said Mr Varadkar.

"I don't think relations have ever been stronger or closer between Ireland and the US, and I want to cement that and use the opportunity for the meetings that we're going to have to follow up on some of the things that we were talking about before, but also at an official level and between the different teams.

He is travelling with quite a big team of people coming up with him from his administration."

Mr Varadkar said there is no question that the visit is a "damp squib" because the institutions of the North are not up and running.

"It's certainly unfortunate and regrettable that the Assembly and executive are still not up and running," he said.

"But it's still worth marking 25 years of peace on our island, something still worth celebrating. As I say, relations between the US government and the Irish Government have never been better, and it's an opportunity to cement that."

It is expected that Mr Biden will travel with hundreds of people — including family members — on the trip, but First Lady Jill Biden is not expected to accompany him on this part of the trip. It is understood that more than 500 journalists from across the globe have applied for accreditation with the Department of Foreign Affairs.

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.

'Roll out the red carpet'

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 US Secret Service personnel have already visited proposed locations as part of planning for the visit.

Former US president Bill Clinton and his wife, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, will be in Belfast the week after Mr Biden for more events to commemorate the landmark peace deal that largely ended the Troubles.