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Why Ireland is VITAL to PRESIDENT Joe Biden.

 

There is almost nothing that the polarised politicians in Washington can agree on these days. Bipartisan co-operation is extremely hard to find. That is with respect to an American editor Sara Smith.
But there is one issue on which just about everyone sees eye to eye. And that is the value of the Good Friday Agreement (GFA), which ended 30 years of deadly violence in Northern Ireland. The agreement itself is seen as a shining example of what can be achieved by determined diplomacy and careful negotiation. 
American politicians are rightly proud of the role the US played in securing the peace. The tireless work of Senator George Mitchell as well as the intense engagement of President Bill Clinton were essential.

President Biden sees the agreement as part of his own political legacy and can claim    credit  for encouraging US involvement in the peace process through the 1980s and 90s.
Defending the GFA, and the relative peace it ensures, has been a high priority for the Biden administration. There are deep concerns about how Brexit may affect the agreement. This presidential visit would not be taking place if the Windsor Framework had not been secured to resolve the issues over trade between Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the Republic. The future of any free trade deal between the UK and US also hangs on the continued maintenance of the GFA. 
In Belfast, President Biden will talk about how the US can help to support "Northern Ireland's vast economic potential".
In Dublin, he is expected to address the Irish parliament and stress the close co-operation between the two nations. And he will make more personal visits to County Louth and County Mayo to revisit his family roots.
There is a long tradition of US presidents enjoying trips to Ireland more than they do many other official engagements. Bill Clinton was greeted by ecstatic crowds in 1995 when he became the first American president to visit Northern Ireland as well as the Republic. The New York Times said the "Irish gave Bill Clinton the best two days of his presidency". Sixty years ago, John F Kennedy described his Irish trip in 1963 as the best four days of his life.

Since then, Presidents Nixon, Reagan, George W Bush, Obama and Trump have all made trips to the Emerald Isle - all to the great envy of many other European countries who do not get nearly so much attention. 

President Joe Biden Cheering For Irish Bond, unity on St. Patrick's Day

The 'most Irish' US president in history

Joe Biden is inordinately proud of his personal Irish heritage. He mentions it at every opportunity. Just after he was elected president in 2020 he was asked by my colleague Nick Bryant for a "quick word for the BBC". He swiftly replied: "The BBC? I'm Irish!" 

He loves to quote Irish poets and uses the experience of Irish citizens living under British rule as a way to express empathy with persecuted minorities around the world.

The Irish diaspora in America does not have the same outsized influence in US politics as it once did. But with 30 million Americans claiming Irish roots - that is about one in 10 of the current population - it never does any harm for a US president to be seen embracing his Celtic connections.

With two great-grandparents coming from Ireland, Joe Biden is one of the most Irish presidents in history.

Edward Blewitt was an engineer and brickmaker who left the west coast town of Ballina, Mayo, in 1850. He decided to head to Scranton in Pennsylvania - with his family including son Patrick - as the devastating Irish potato famine was causing widespread starvation.

This week, his great-great-great-grandson will be greeted by a huge painted mural of his own face in the town square.



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