From the BBC:
“Joe Biden: US president confirms
visit to Northern Ireland”
US President Joe Biden will begin a
four-day trip to Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland in Belfast on 11
April, the White House has confirmed. President Biden is travelling to mark the
25th Anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. He will also hold various
engagements in Dublin, County Louth, and County Mayo. Mr Biden is also expected
to meet Irish President Michael D Higgins. In a statement, the White House said
the President will travel to the United Kingdom and Ireland from 11-14 April
adding that the trip would mark "the tremendous progress since the signing
of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement 25 years ago". Irish broadcaster RTÉ
has reported the official visit may include government receptions for President
Biden at Farmleigh House and Dublin Castle. It is also believed the US
president will attend the Irish presidential residence, Áras an Uachtaráin, to
meet Michael D Higgins. White House spokesperson John Kirby said it was
expected that President Biden would address the Oireachtas (Irish parliament)
on Thursday. He will become the fourth US president to do so, following
President John F Kennedy on 28 June 1963, President Ronald Reagan on 4 June
1984 and President Bill Clinton on 1 December 1995. It has also been confirmed
that President Biden will be in County Mayo on Friday, where he will speak at
an event outside St Muredach's Cathedral, Ballina.
'Celebrating significant milestone' Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Leo
Varadkar said he was "delighted" that President Biden would be
visiting Ireland. "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," he said. He said the
involvement of the United States and of President Biden personally had been
"essential to the peace process in Ireland". "From its
earliest uncertain beginnings to the making of the Good Friday Agreement, in
good days and bad, the US has always been at our side," said Mr Varadkar.
"So it's fitting that President Biden will be here to mark this
significant milestone with us."
Timeline of previous presidential
visits President John
F Kennedy visited Ireland in June 1963, including a trip to his family's
ancestral home in County Wexford. Mr Kennedy referred to this visit as
"the best four days of his life'" and it occurred five months before
his assassination. In June 1984, President Ronald Reagan
travelled to Ireland, and gave a speech in the village of Ballyporeen in County
Tipperary, his ancestral home. In November 1995, President Bill
Clinton travelled to Belfast, Londonderry, Armagh and Omagh, becoming the
first US president to visit Northern Ireland. Mr Clinton would return to
Northern Ireland again on 3 September 1998, five months after the signing of
the Good Friday Agreement and just a month after the Omagh bombing. Mr
Clinton gave his sympathies to the bereaved families and called for a new peace
to be built following the agreement. He also visited Armagh for a
special Gathering for Peace on the Mall, where thousands turned out to hear
them speak. In 2000, nearing the end of his time as president, Mr
Clinton once more returned to Northern Ireland as part of his farewell tour.
In April 2003, President George W Bush visited Northern Ireland to
hold talks over the political process in the country and the war in Iraq. In
June 2008, Mr Bush made a one-day stop in Northern Ireland during his European
farewell trip as his presidency came to an end. The president was
welcomed at Stormont Castle by then first and deputy first ministers Peter
Robinson and Martin McGuinness. In May 2011, President Barack Obama
visited Ireland, including a stop at Moneygall in County Offaly where his
great-great-great-grandfather came from. President Obama arrived in
Northern Ireland in June 2013 to attended the G8 summit, which was being held
County Fermanagh. He also spoke to an audience at the Waterfront Hall in
Belfast, saying the road to a lasting peace in Northern Ireland was "as
urgent now as it has ever been".
'Deep, historic ties' In 2016, Joe Biden visited the
Republic of Ireland during his time as vice president, and went on a tour of
his ancestral home in County Mayo. Last week, the president said he
still planned to visit Northern Ireland despite MI5's decision to increase the
terrorism threat level to "severe". During next week's visit
the president will hold various engagements in the Republic of Ireland, including
those in Dublin, County Louth and County Mayo, where he will "deliver an
address to celebrate the deep, historic ties that link our countries and
people."
Good Friday Agreement anniversary Former US President Bill Clinton,
former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern are among
those expected to visit Northern Ireland for commemorative events. Both
Queen's University Belfast and Ulster University (UU) are hosting events to
mark the anniversary Large, silent video portraits of the 14 politicians
who negotiated the peace deal will be displayed at UU's Belfast campus from 15
to 20 April. The university is also launching a new leadership
programme, a tourism summit and an education project. Further details of
President Biden's trip have yet to be released.
^ It’s important to recognize and
remember the Good Friday Agreement that ended the death and violence of The
Troubles. ^
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.