US President Joe Biden will arrive in Ireland this evening for a four-day trip.
The 80-year-old will begin his trip in Belfast, before heading to Louth, Dublin and Mayo for a series of engagements.
According to The Irish Mirror, plainclothes armed gardaí will front cordoned-off areas where crowds will gather to get a glimpse of the US President during his trip.
US Secret Service agents will reportedly be liaising with the detectives to ensure there is no threat to Biden’s safety during his walkabouts.
It is understood that there will be 500 gardaí on duty in Dublin alone, 200 of which will be armed. The publication also reports that up to 400 Secret Service staff will be in Ireland for Biden’s trip, and a US aircraft carrier will patrol the eastern coastline.
While on the ground, Biden will reportedly be transported in a bulletproof limo with up to 40 vehicles travelling in the convoy.
The 80-year-old will be accompanied by heavily armed US security personnel carrying Glock pistols and high-calibre automatic weapons, according to the outlet.
Biden will jet into Belfast this evening on Air Force One, where he will be greeted by British prime minister Rishi Sunak.
His first engagement will take place on Wednesday, when he meets with Sunak at a city centre hotel in Belfast.
The President 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.
After his university visit, 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 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 upcoming 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.
