Minister for for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs Éamon Ó Cuív will promote the Irish language during a two-day trip to Boston in the US beginning today.
The West Galway TD will visit Boston College, the Centre for Irish Studies and the Irish Cultural Centre.
Mr Ó Cuív will also deliver a keynote address at the Department of Celtic Languages and Literatures in Harvard University.
He is expected to discuss the status of Irish within the EU since it became an official working language of the bloc on January 1st last year.
The minister's itinerary also includes meetings with members of the Irish community living and working in the Massachusetts state capital.
Tomorrow, Mr Ó Cuív will participate in a workshop on post-Famine Irish by Dr Robert Savage of Boston College.