The DUP is to reject an invitation to attend President George Bush's St Patrick's Day reception at the White House next Friday, which the leaders of the other four main political parties in the North are expected to attend.
The families of Robert McCartney and Joseph Rafferty, both believed to have been murdered by IRA members, are also being invited to the event, which will take place after a 30-minute meeting between President Bush and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern.
The families will have a brief private encounter with the president, along with members of the North's policing board and other civil society leaders, before the main reception.
The White House began sending formal invitations on Thursday to the annual event, which will be attended by about 100 people, mainly Irish-American supporters of the Republican Party.
A DUP spokesman said yesterday that his party had no plans to send anybody to the reception.
There had been speculation that while the Rev Ian Paisley would not go, he might send a senior party figure such as deputy leader Peter Robinson.
The spokesman said his party "was never a big fan of trotting out to the White House on St Patrick's Day". A delegation was going to Washington in early April to meet various members of Congress and "we took a decision a while back that it didn't suit us to go during St Patrick's week".
This decision was not intended as a snub of any sort, he said.
Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams will be granted a visa to visit the US but is not expected to be allowed to engage in fundraising. SDLP leader Mark Durkan, UUP leader Sir Reg Empey and Alliance Party leader David Ford are also expected to be at the White House.
Last year the White House invited the McCartney family and representatives of civil society in the North to the St Patrick's Day celebrations. Not wanting to invite Sinn Féin in the wake of the Northern Bank robbery, the McCartney killing and the continuing failure to decommission weapons, the White House chose to invite none of the party leaders. This decision is believed to have been taken to ensure they were not seen to discriminate against Sinn Féin.
The Taoiseach will make the traditional presentation of a bowl of shamrock to the president on Friday morning. In a statement yesterday, White House press secretary Scott McClellan said this ceremony "dates back decades and symbolises the close friendship between the United States and Ireland".
Mr Ahern and President Bush will meet in the Oval Office for up to 30 minutes. They will discuss plans for immigration reform in the US, which Irish-Americans want to be framed so as to regularise the situation of up to 50,000 Irish people living illegally in the United States.
Mr Bush will brief Mr Ahern on the situation in Iraq and the fight against international terrorism, while Mr Ahern will update the president on the efforts to restore the North's power-sharing executive.
Mr Bush and Mr Ahern will then be joined by northern secretary Peter Hain for the private meeting with the McCartneys, the Raffertys and Northern civic leaders. At this meeting, according to Mr McClellan, Mr Bush, Mr Ahern and Mr Hain will "greet civil society leaders who are striving to build an inclusive and peaceful Northern Ireland".
This will be followed by the larger reception.