'April is being looked at': Planning underway for Joe Biden to visit Ireland

Joe Biden on St Patrick's Day 2022. Picture: AP Photo/Patrick Semansky

Initial planning has begun for US president Joe Biden to visit Ireland with officials hoping he will come here in April, the Irish Examiner has learned.

It is understood that Mr Biden could arrive in April to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

Senior sources have said Mr Biden is likely to visit Belfast, Dublin and Co Mayo on an official State visit.

“President Biden will be coming to Ireland this year, the question is of when but April is being looked at," a senior source said.

“Discussions are underway about Mr Biden coming in April to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

“Nothing is confirmed yet but talks have begun on the matter.” 

Hotels in the West of Ireland have been identified as potential locations for Mr Biden to stay during his visit.

It is also expected he would stay in the US ambassador residence in Phoenix Park if he was to visit Dublin. It is understood Mr Biden would likely visit Co Mayo in a more “informal capacity,” the source added.

A spokesperson for Micheál Martin said Mr Biden had expressed a wish to come to Ireland on previous discussions with the Tánaiste.

US president Joe Biden meets virtually with Micheál Martin in the Oval Office of the White House last March. Picture: Patrick Semansky/AP/Shutterstock

“President Biden’s travel arrangements are obviously a matter for him. He always has an open invitation to visit Ireland and the President has expressed a wish to come,” the spokesperson added.

A senior source said that a visit to Belfast may also depend on developments on the restoration of the Stormont Executive.

Mr Biden has previously indicated he wants to visit both Ballina, Co Mayo and Carlingford, Co Louth, to meet with his relatives in both counties.

He previously visited Ballina in 2016, where he spent time meeting and greeting the people of the town, before dining with his relatives, the Blewitt family.

US Ambassador to Ireland Claire Cronin said late last year that President Biden would be making a visit to Ireland in 2023.

Earlier on Monday, Mr Biden made an unannounced visit to Ukraine to meet president Volodymyr Zelensky – a gesture of solidarity days before the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of the country.