Taoiseach and Tánaiste to front Ireland's biggest-ever St Patrick's Day schedule in US
Leo Varadkar (left) will depart for Washington DC on Tuesday, while Micheál Martin (right) is due to arrive in New York on Monday. File picture: Sam Boal / RollingNews.ie
The Taoiseach and Tánaiste will meet with US politicians, companies who invest in Ireland, and news media as they travel to America as part of the largest St Patrick's Day programme ever.
Leo Varadkar will depart for Washington DC on Tuesday ahead of his meeting with US President Joe Biden at the White House on Friday. The meeting comes amid intense speculation that Mr Biden will pay a return visit to Ireland in April, as first revealed by the in February.
That meeting will follow the traditional breakfast with the US Vice President, Kamala Harris, and a lunch with the Friends of Ireland caucus on Capitol Hill, hosted by US Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy.
It is understood that Mr Varadkar will also host meetings with Enterprise Ireland, IDA client companies and the editorial board of the , as well as take part in a number of Good Friday Agreement events.
Meanwhile, Tánaiste Micheál Martin will appear on a large screen in Times Square during his 11-day tour to New York and Boston.
Mr Martin was due to arrive in New York on Monday to attend an event to mark the upcoming 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.
He will hold meetings with various Enterprise Ireland and Irish Development Authority clients and stakeholders and other US and Irish business leaders as well as attending several events with members of the Irish community in New York.
Among a number of media interviews, the understands officials were planning for Mr Martin to meet up to 10 members of the New York Times Editorial Board to discuss Brexit and the Windsor Framework, including its implications for Northern Ireland.
Mr Martin will also be interviewed by CNN anchor Kate Bolduan on Tuesday to discuss St Patrick’s Day, Ireland’s response to the war in Ukraine and the Windsor Framework.
During his time in New York, he will also attend a reception to launch the American Chamber of Commerce in Ireland’s Annual Report and attend a number of high-level engagements in the United Nations.
He will also visit the New York Irish Centre and attend a Seniors Lunch before attending a reception with members of New York’s Irish community and NY-based Irish-American community organisations.
The Tánaiste will attend the St Patrick’s Day Foundation Annual Gala and on Thursday, he will ring the opening bell at the Nasdaq stock exchange with New York’s St Patrick’s Day parade grand marshal and the parade president. This event will be displayed on a screen in Times Square.
On St Patrick’s Day, the Tánaiste will participate in the parade and later attend a performance by the Cross Border Orchestra in Carnegie Hall.
Mr Martin will travel to Boston on Saturday where he’ll address a John F Kennedy Library event marking St Patrick’s Day, the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement and the 60th anniversary of President Kennedy’s visit to Ireland.
He will travel to Holyoke on Sunday where he will meet Congressman Richie Neal before taking part in the Holyoke St Patrick’s Day parade. The Tánaiste will also present the United States Ambassador to Ireland, Claire Cronin, with the Holyoke St Patrick’s Day Ambassador Award.
