US President Joe Biden will make a key speech at Ulster University’s Belfast campus today.
The 80-year-old, accompanied by his sister Valerie and son Hunter, landed in Belfast aboard Air Force One on Tuesday night.
They were greeted by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
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President Biden’s first engagement in Ireland takes place today, as he meets with Prime Minister Sunak at an undisclosed city centre hotel in Belfast.
The 80-year-old will then deliver a public address at Ulster University, where he will be joined by the North’s political leaders and representatives from youth, business and civic communities.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre previously announced the US President will travel to Belfast to mark the “tremendous progress” that has been made since signing the agreement, “and to underscore the readiness of the United States to support Northern Ireland’s vast economic potential to the benefit of all communities.”
You can watch President Biden’s speech live here – which is expected to begin at 1pm.
After his visit to Ulster University, President Biden will head to Dublin Airport, before travelling to Co. Louth for a walk about Carlingford Castle.
According to The Irish Times, the 80-year-old will be invited to delve into the history of his great-great-grandfather Owen Finnegan here, who left for the US in the 1840s.
Biden will then travel back to Dublin, ahead of a long day of engagements on Thursday.
On the morning of April 13, he will meet with Michael D. Higgins at Áras an Uachtaráin – where he is likely to be introduced to the Irish President’s beloved Bernese Mountain dogs, Bród and Misneach.
Biden will then have a meeting with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar at the Farmleigh estate.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar described President Biden’s visit as “an opportunity to celebrate and renew the strong political, economic and personal ties that bind our two countries”.
Adding that it would be a “privileged and special moment,” Leo said: “Joe Biden has always been a friend of Ireland. Over many decades, and to this day, he has supported the cause of peace in Ireland and the Good Friday Agreement. He stood with us as we navigated the difficult consequences of Brexit.”
“When we spoke recently in the White House, President Biden was clear that in celebrating the Good Friday Agreement, we should be looking ahead, not backwards. We need to continue working together as true partners to fulfil the potential of all the people who call this island their home.”
On Thursday afternoon, Biden will address the Oireachtas, making him the fourth US President to do so – following John F Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton.
The US President will then wrap up his tour of Dublin with a banquet dinner at Dublin Castle that evening.
It is understood that he will be staying in the 5-star hotel The Conrad while in Dublin.
On Friday, Biden will travel to Ballina in Co. Mayo – the home of his great-great-great-grandfather Edward Blewitt, who emigrated to the US in 1850 and settled in his hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania.
The 80-year-old will conclude his visit with a public address outside St Muredach’s Cathedral in Ballina by the river Moy on Friday evening.
It’s understood Edward Blewitt supplied the bricks for that same church back in 1828.
You can register to attend the public event here.
President Biden will then head back to the US via Dublin Airport on Friday night.
