Irish Biden goes green at St Patrick’s Day meeting with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar
Joe Biden welcomed Leo Varadkar to the White House on Friday for St. Patrick’s Day, as the Irish leader vowed to roll out the red carpet for the president’s upcoming visit.
Biden, who is proud of his Irish roots, where his great-great-grandfather was born, said he looks forward to visiting Ireland “soon”.
“It’s good to have you back in the Oval Office, Taoiseach. It’s a big day in my grandparents’ household, our household, big day here,” he said.
Varadkar said the entire Republic of Ireland is looking out for Biden. The president is expected to travel there next month to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.
“I promise we’re going to roll out the red carpet and it’s going to be a visit like no other. Everyone is already excited about it,” the taoiseach said.
Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar told President Joe Biden that his country looks forward to welcoming him for a visit
The White House went green for the occasion. The water in the fountain on the North Lawn was painted green, shamrocks adorned the Oval Office, and the president wore a green tie with white polka dots.
Green is the theme of the day amid a jam-packed schedule of holiday-related activities, including an Oval Office meeting, a Capitol Hill luncheon hosted by speaker Kevin McCarthy, and Irish eggs for breakfast with Vice President Kamala Harris.
Varadkar’s visit comes after Biden said he plans to visit both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland next month, marking the 25th anniversary of the US-brokered Good Friday Agreement.
The agreement helped end the sectarian violence that has raged for three decades over whether Northern Ireland should unite with Ireland or remain part of the United Kingdom.
“I want to recognize the central role the US has played in the peace process on our island, moving it forward and critical points,” Varadkar said Friday morning during his meeting with Harris.
The fountain on the North Lawn of the White House is painted green for St. Patrick’s Day
Spectators on O’Connell Bridge watching the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Dublin
Prior to his meeting with Biden, Varadkar, known as the taoiseach, and his partner Matthew Barrett visited the Naval Observatory for breakfast with Harris and Second Lord Doug Emhoff. The menu said ‘Eggs St. Patrick’. It’s an Irish twist on Eggs Benedict.
Harris wore a green pantsuit for the occasion. The three men had cloverleaf in the breast pockets of their suit jackets.
Acknowledging Biden’s love of all things Irish, she noted, “He’s pretty exuberant in that joy and I’ve got the bug now.”
Later on Friday, the boy band One Direction and Irish singer Niall Horan will perform for leaders and guests at the White House.
Horan was one of five members of One Direction, the popular Anglo-Irish boy band from 2010, which sold more than 70 million records worldwide. The band officially broke up in January 2016.
During Friday’s visit, Varadkar is expected to present Biden with an engraved crystal bowl of shamrocks, a tradition that began in 1952.
Last year, on St. Patrick’s Day, then-Prime Minister Micheál Martin tested positive for COVID, which led to him meeting Biden virtually. And in 2021, Martin and Biden celebrated virtually because of the pandemic.
Varadkar, who served as Taoiseach from 2017 to 2020, returned to the role in December. He was last in Washington for St. Patrick’s Day when Donald Trump was president.
Vice President Kamala Harris toasts as she hosts a St. Patrick’s Day breakfast with Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, seated left
The holiday will become a tradition to celebrate at the White House. About 31.5 million U.S. residents claim Irish ancestry, second only to German, according to the Census Bureau.
Biden, in particular, is proud of his Irish roots, speaking of them often and quoting an Irish poet in most of his speeches.
His mother’s family – the Finnegans – were Irish-American immigrants.
The president has long made it clear that he wanted to visit Ireland as president, but Northern Ireland’s trading status caused diplomatic headaches when it came to a presidential visit.
But that obstacle was removed when Britain and the European Union agreed on the Windsor Framework, which opened the way for trade across the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Former One Direction member Irish singer Niall Horan performs at a St. Patrick’s Day reception at the White House on Friday
Under the Northern Ireland Protocol, Northern Ireland, part of the United Kingdom, essentially remained in the European Union market, along with its neighbor the Republic of Ireland, an independent country when Britain voted to leave the EU to leave
The Windsor Framework will keep goods moving without upsetting the Good Friday Agreement.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak personally invited Biden to come when he met him in San Diego on Monday at an aukus event.
“I know it’s something very special and personal to you. We would like to have you,” the prime minister told the US president.
‘Twenty-five years. Seems like yesterday. Like yesterday,” Biden mused about Sunak’s invitation. “Thank you,” he added.
Biden last visited Ireland in an official capacity in 2016 as vice president. That visit included stops in Dublin, Mayo and Louth – the capital city plus the two counties of his ancestors.