US President Joe Biden voices 'strong support' for Good Friday Agreement
US President, Joe Biden: 'We celebrate the deep deep affection that we Americans have particularly Irish Americans have for Ireland and the people of Ireland.' Picture: Jim Watson.AFP via Getty Images
US president Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have both expressed “strong support” for the Good Friday Agreement during St Patrick’s Day meetings with Taoiseach Micheál Martin.
The meeting of the two leaders, held virtually because of Covid-19, was the first formal bilateral between Mr Biden who took office in January and Mr Martin who has been Taoiseach since last June.
Mr Martin thanked both Mr Biden and Ms Pelosi for their support for the peace process during the Brexit negotiations saying their intervention “mattered”.
Mr Biden said: "You know my view, and the view of my predecessor of the Obama/Biden administration, on the Good Friday Agreement, we strongly support them, we think it's critically important they be maintained and the political and economic stability of Northern Ireland is very much in the interest of all of our people," he said.
What was also significant is that President Biden also participated in a meeting of the Northern leaders – Arlene Foster of the DUP and Michelle O’Neill of Sinn Féin – which was hosted by Vice President Kamala Harris.
The Taoiseach, speaking to reporters in Dublin, said the President sought an update from him in terms of the current situation in respective of how things are working two and a half months on from Brexit and the application of the protocol.
Mr Biden said he looked forward to hosting the Taoiseach in person in Washington next year.
The president confirmed that the White House would be illuminated in green on Wednesday night to “celebrate the deep deep affection Americans have, particularly Irish Americans, for Ireland”.
Mr Biden spoke warmly of his Irish roots, including Ambrose Finnegan, who was a footballer and a newspaperman. He recalled how he would tell the young Biden: “Joey remember, the best drop of blood in you is Irish.”
During his contribution, the Taoiseach told the president that the people of Ireland are “so proud of your election” as a “proud son of Ireland”.
“I can think of no better day for me to have the great pleasure to extend to you their warmest greetings,” he said.
“It feels strange to have to celebrate apart, as you know well, Irish people love to come together to celebrate our heritage and culture with song, with dance, with parades, with poetry and with pride, and this year because of the pandemic, it just simply isn’t possible.
“Here in Ireland people are marking the occasion in their homes but they will be thinking especially of their loved ones around the world and sending them best thoughts and wishes. They will do so in the hope that next year will be better, as I and you believe it will.
President Biden and Vice President Harris also held a virtual meeting with Northern Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster and Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill.
Speaking following the call, Ms O’Neill said the meeting was "hugely beneficial", as both Mr Biden and Ms Harris reaffirmed their "unequivocal support for the Irish peace process and full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement".
"I thanked them both for their continued political support and emphasised the valued role played by the US administration since the Clinton era," Ms O’Neill said.
The world has taken great heart in the steps US President Joe Biden has made in bringing America back to centre stage on climate change, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said.
Speaking during their formal bilateral meeting, held virtually, Mr Martin said the bowl of shamrock presented to Mr Biden is a symbol of the “undying friendship” that exists between Ireland and the United States.
The Taoiseach said Mr Biden’s election as President in November was a cause of celebration and pride for so many people in Ireland.
“The people of Ireland are so proud of you becoming the President of the United States,” he told Mr Biden.
Mr Martin extended a fresh invitation to Mr Biden to visit Ireland and said he looked forward to visiting the US as soon as possible.
In his remarks, Mr Biden paid a warm tribute to the Taoiseach during their formal bilateral meeting.
He thanked the Irish leader for his leadership and role on the United Nations Security Council and also reaffirmed his strong support for the Good Friday Agreement.
Both leaders expressed regret that the event could not happen in person but said they looked forward to when they can meet again.
Mr Martin expressed his condolences on behalf of the people of Ireland in memory of the people killed in a series of shootings in Atlanta.
Mr Biden in his contribution recollected his time as vice president when he hosted the annual St Patrick's Day breakfast for Taoisigh and also how he "snuck over" to the Irish Embassy party after the main events in the White House concluded.
"I hope to do that again," he said.
He spoke warmly of how as a young boy his grandfather told him that the best drop of blood in him was Irish.
He remembered fondly his visit to Ireland in 2019 and the pride he took in being able to show his children and grandchildren his ancestral homes in Ballina, Co Mayo and also in Co Louth.
During the meeting, matters such a Brexit, battling Covid-19 and vaccine supplies, peace in Northern Ireland as well as Ireland's role on the UN Security Council were discussed.
President Joe Biden also said the cause of Ireland is “in his blood” and said it was his honour to meet virtually with the Taoiseach.
He said he was speaking from a White House designed by an Irish man in a nation where Irish blood was spilled in the revolution, the independence, and for unity and freedom through the years.
In his remarks at the Speaker’s lunch, he paid a warm tribute to the late political leader, John Hume whom he described as “a great man who gave so much to the cause of peace”.
Quoting his favourite poet Seamus Heaney, he said that “hope and history rhyme” and he hoped that political leaders can make that happen for the betterment of America and Ireland.
In her introductory remarks, Speaker Pelosi paid a warm tribute to Mr Martin as a “great ally” of the United States and reaffirmed her commitment to the peace process.
She spoke of her three Irish grandchildren Sean, Ryan and Liam Kenneally who were baptised in Kilquade Church in Co Wicklow.
Vice-President Kamala Harris told Mr Martin that her country's commitment to Ireland "remains steadfast and strong".
He also congratulated her as the first female US president vice president, adding "you may be the first woman in your role, but you will not be the last".
"I hope that I will have the opportunity to welcome you to Ireland too during your time as Vice President," he said.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin kicked off his St Patrick's Day events by holding meetings with US Vice-President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Brexit and the response to the Covid-19 pandemic were the dominant themes of the meeting.
The meetings, held virtually because of Covid-19, focused on the fight against Covid as well as current tensions in the North because of Brexit.
In his remarks to Ms Harris, Micheál Martin extended an invitation to her to visit Ireland during her time as vice-president.
“I hope, Madame Vice-President, that I will have the opportunity to welcome you to Ireland too during your time as vice-president. You know the ties between our nations are rich and deep,” he said.
“One of them was Kate Kennedy, of Meath. She led the 'equal pay for equal work' campaign of 1874, which successfully lobbied the California legislature to provide female teachers the same pay as their male counterparts,” he said.
Also in his address at the Speaker's lunch, Mr Martin raised the plight of the undocumented Irish.
"Can I thank you, Madam Speaker for your efforts to ensure that Irish men and women can once again come to America to fulfil the American Dream, to work and contribute to this great nation by legal means," the Taoiseach said.
"I hope that this Congress Term can pass legislation that makes that dream a reality. So that in the decades to come, the sons and daughters of Irish emigrants can continue to contribute to the great diversity that powers America."
Mr Martin mentioned the success of the Collison brothers, John and Patrick.
“Earlier this week, I had cause to congratulate two other Irish immigrants to California, Patrick and John Collison. I first encountered Patrick Collison, when, aged 16, he won Ireland’s Young Scientist Exhibition.”
“He moved to California some years later with his equally brilliant brother, John, and together they founded their company Stripe. This week it was declared the most valuable start-up in America.
"It now has dual headquarters in Dublin and San Francisco, an exemplar of the deep and mutually beneficial, mutually inspiring ties between our nations,” he said.
In his address to Nancy Pelosi, he said: In her poem, ‘Quarantine’, the brilliant Irish author and Stanford professor, Eavan Boland, wrote of ‘‘the worst hour of the worst year of the worst season of a whole people”.
"She was referring to 1847 and ‘‘the Great Hunger’’ which drove so many from Ireland to seek refuge in the New World, President Biden’s ancestors amongst them. But her words capture, I think, our shared experience these past 12 months," Mr Martin said.
In relation to Brexit, Mr Martin said that in the five years since the UK voted to leave the European Union, we have seen – time and time again – how strong our friendships in Washington are, where there is a deep appreciation of the importance of the balances and nuances within the Good Friday Agreement.
An appreciation that we do not take for granted, he stressed.
“Severing ties that had built up over almost five decades of shared membership of the European Union – and that had helped underpin the Good Friday Agreement – was never going to be painless,” Mr Martin said.
“But we have been determined always that, whatever other harm Brexit does cause, it could never be allowed to jeopardise the peace so many worked so hard for,” he added.
The Taoiseach said Ms Pelosi’s visit to Ireland and Britain in April 2019, and the clear message conveyed about her commitment to protecting the peace process and preserving the seamless border in Ireland, made a real difference.
In her remarks, Ms Harris said the relationship between Ireland and the United States remains strong as she hosted Taoiseach Micheál Martin for a virtual meeting in the White House. She said she looked forward to hosting the Taoiseach in person next year.
“On behalf of the president I would like to thank Ireland for advancing our shared values as a member of the UN Security Council and thank you for our robust economic partnership,” said Ms Harris.
The Taoiseach began his comments by offering Ireland’s condolences to America for the deaths overnight in Atlanta.
He referenced the election of Mary Robinson as the first woman president of Ireland who remarked that she was elected “by the women of Ireland”.
“Oh that’s good,” responded Ms Harris.
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