Joe Biden: Ireland's future is going to change the world

Taoiseach Micheál Martin had been in attendance at the annual gala dinner but left early when the results of a Covid test came through

US president Joe Biden speaks at the Ireland Funds 30th National Gala at the National Building Museum in Washington DC during Taoiseach Micheál Martin's visit to the US for St Patrick's Day. Picture: Oliver Contreras/PA 

Ireland is a “country with a past that tugs at our hearts and a future that’s going to change the world,” US president Joe Biden has said.

Addressing the Ireland Funds dinner in Washington, he remembered his ancestors who left Co Mayo and Co Louth 165 years ago.