Dublin Zoo is closed to the public today, as US President Joe Biden will be visiting Phoenix Park.
The 80-year-old 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.
As a result of his visit, the zoo closed at 5pm yesterday evening, and it will not reopen until 9:30am on Friday.
After meeting with Michael D. Higgins and Leo Varadkar, 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 this evening.
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.
