Biden to explore his Irish lineage and meet with relatives on overseas trip

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will spend time tracing his family history this week on a trip that includes stops in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Biden departed Tuesday for a trip that will commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, which ended 30 years of violent conflict in Northern Ireland. He landed Tuesday evening in Belfast, where he'll meet with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday. Sunak was among the officials who greeted Biden at Belfast International Airport.

Biden is expected to deliver remarks at Ulster University "marking tremendous progress" since the signing of the peace agreement in 1998, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters Monday at the White House briefing.

• Add to Google

Biden’s ancestral hometowns prepare Irish welcome

01:31

"He’ll underscore the readiness of the United States to preserve those gains and support Northern Ireland’s vast economic potential to the benefit of all communities," said Kirby, who dismissed concerns about recent threats of violence in the country, saying Biden is comfortable making the trip.

Kirby added, "President Biden cares deeply about Northern Ireland and has a long history of supporting peace and prosperity there."

After his speech in Belfast, Biden will travel to County Louth, on the northeastern coast of Ireland, which was home to his maternal ancestors in the 19th century. Biden's great-grandparents James Finnegan and Catherine Roche lived in the area before Finnegan immigrated with his family to the U.S., settling in Seneca County, New York, when he was 9 years old, a White House official said.

On Thursday, Biden is expected to meet with Ireland’s president, Michael Higgins, and taoiseach, or prime minister, Leo Varadkar, and address a joint session of the Irish Parliament, Kirby said. That evening, Biden will attend a banquet at Dublin Castle.

Biden is also set to visit County Mayo, on Ireland's northwestern coast, where more of his ancestors, the Blewitt family, are from.

"He will meet with relatives, visit places of significance to the Finnegans of County Louth and the Blewitts of County Mayo and discuss how a fierce pride in being Irish and a value system that says everyone is entitled to be treated with dignity and respect have been passed down to each generation," a White House official said.

The visit to County Mayo is expected to include a stop at a genealogical research center. Biden will deliver remarks at St. Muredach’s Cathedral, where his great-great-grandfather Patrick Blewitt was baptized in April 1832.

Biden is scheduled to return to the U.S. on Saturday. Asked by reporters Monday whether his trip would include a meeting with King Charles, Kirby indicated that Biden spoke to him by phone last week and informed him that first lady Jill Biden would represent the U.S. at his coronation in May.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe debate over AI’s future rages on both coasts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDecades-old march dispute reignites in Northern Ireland, threatening political crisis

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe debate over AI’s future rages on both coasts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDecades-old march dispute reignites in Northern Ireland, threatening political crisis