US president Joe Biden will visit the Republic and Northern Ireland next week to mark the 25th anniversary of the Belfast Agreement, as well as holding a round of political meetings and calling to his ancestral homelands in Co Louth and Co Mayo. While an official schedule has not yet been released, here is a timeline of everything we know so far about the visit:
Tuesday, April 11th
Mr Biden is expected to arrive in Northern Ireland on Tuesday evening.
Wednesday, April 12th
Mr Biden is due to carry out only one engagement in Northern Ireland at Ulster University (UU) before departing for Dublin on Wednesday afternoon.
The Irish Times understands the US president will mark the formal opening of UU’s Belfast campus and hold engagements with northern political leaders as well as representatives from the youth, business and civic communities while at the university.
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UK prime minister Rishi Sunak will also travel to Northern Ireland for Mr Biden’s visit.
Planners of the visit are looking at organising walkabouts by Mr Biden in Dundalk and Carlingford on a stop-off in Co Louth later that day.
US service service agents have been spotted scoping out King John’s Castle, also known as Carlingford Castle, the 12th-century national monument in the village, ahead of the visit.
The walkabouts in Carlingford and Dundalk are being planned for Wednesday evening, according to sources.
The US president will arrive in Dublin later, and there will be a State dinner in Dublin Castle on Wednesday night.
Thursday, April 13th
Mr Biden will pay a formal visit to Áras an Uachtaráin and Farmleigh, where he is due to meet Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, on Thursday.
The US president is also scheduled to make an address to the Oireachtas that afternoon. The Dáil and Seanad are being recalled from their Easter break for the occasion.
Mr Biden will become the fourth president of the United States to address the Oireachtas, following John F Kennedy in 1963, Ronald Reagan in 1984 and Bill Clinton in 1995.
Friday, April 14th
Mr Biden will visit Co Mayo and there will be a public address outside St Muredach’s Cathedral in Ballina on Friday evening.
The US embassy in Dublin said the Ballina event would be free and open to the public, adding anyone wishing to attend can register online at: ie.usembassy.gov/
Mr Biden is expected to fly back to the US following the address in Ballina.
