US President Joe Biden met An Irish Goodbye star James Martin at Ulster University on Wednesday.
The 80-year-old, who spoke at the university’s Belfast campus earlier today, saluted to the actor in the audience – who bowed after receiving applause led by the president.
In his address, the father-of-four said: “Today, Northern Ireland is a churn of creativity, art, poetry, theatre.”
US President @JoeBiden leads applause for James Martin, star of the Oscar-winning film @AnIrishGoodbye_ during his speech at Ulster University in Belfast | Follow live updates: https://t.co/mkYvokyNyh pic.twitter.com/GoxUytaiJB
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) April 12, 2023
“Some of our favourite television shows and movies are filmed here, as you know,” President Biden continued.
“I got to meet James, I got my picture taken. I’m going to go home and brag to my daughter.”
An Irish Goodbye, which is set on a rural farm in Northern Ireland, won the award for Live Action Short Film at the 95th Academy Awards last month.
The film tells the story of two estranged brothers – Lorcan, played by James Martin, and Turlough, Seamus O’Hare – brought together again after their mother’s untimely death.
James celebrated his birthday on Sunday and during his acceptance speech, the star-studded audience at the Oscars sang Happy Birthday to him.
President Biden landed in Belfast on Tuesday night ahead of his three-day trip around Ireland to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.
The father-of-four will be in Ireland until April 14.
The #Oscars audience wishes happy birthday to “An Irish Goodbye” star James Martin. https://t.co/O173fEk6t6 pic.twitter.com/Fn019NXeur
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) March 13, 2023
President Biden will journeyed from Belfast to Dublin Airport on Wednesday afternoon.
The 80-year-old will then travel up to Co. Louth, where he will be invited to delve into the history of his great-great-grandfather Owen Finnegan here, who left for the US in the 1840s, per The Irish Times.
The father-of-four 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.
