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Joe Biden said Britain should be working closer with Ireland to prevent violence in Northern Ireland.
In a speech to the Irish parliament 25 years after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, the US president said “peace is precious. It still needs its champions. It still needs to be nurtured.”
Reflecting on discussions with the Irish prime minister, he spoke of “how Ireland and the United states can work together with the United Kingdom and the European Union to support the people of Northern Ireland”.
“I think that the United Kingdom should be working closer with Ireland in this endeavour. Political violence must never be allowed again to take hold on this island.”
His remarks received applause from assembled politicians.
As he became the fourth US president in history to address the Dublin parliament, Mr Biden toasted the “Irish blood” spilled in the American War of Independence.
He went on to pay tribute to the role in American history of Ireland and Irish immigrants, saying the two countries had “a partnership for the ages beginning in our shared history, dating back to the very founding of the United States.
Joe Biden declares ‘I am home’ in historic address to Irish parliament
Joe Biden declared he was “home” in a historic address to Ireland’s parliament on Thursday where he spoke of the strength of US ties to Dublin and called on Britain to work more closely with Ireland to protect “precious” peace.
The US president was welcomed with sustained, rapturous applause as he entered the chamber in Dublin’s Leinster House for what he called “one of the great honours of my career.”
Asking to be forgiven for his attempt at speaking Irish, he said “Ta me sa bhaile” (I am home).
Mr Biden became the fourth US president to address the Irish Parliament after John F Kennedy in 1963, Ronald Reagan in 1984 and Bill Clinton in 1995.
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Biden namechecks JFK in Irish parliament speech
Joe Biden namechecked fellow Irish-Catholic president John F Kennedy when he addressed the Irish parliament.
The legacy of Mr Kennedy, who addressed a joint sitting of the Dail and Seanad in 1963, was reached for on a number of occasions by Mr Biden during the historic address.
Mr Biden, who like his predecessor has made little secret of his pride in his Irish roots, told parliamentarians: “We have the power to build a better future.”
He said that 60 years ago the “first Irish-Catholic president of the United States made a historic trip here speaking to this assembly and capturing the imaginations of Irish and Irish-American families alike”.
“When John Kennedy addressed parliament, the honour of the more than 150,000 Irish immigrants who joined the army of the North during America’s Civil War – and among them, one or two of them were my relatives as well - they signed up in a new land, to stand for old values, to defend freedom and the dignity of all people.”
JFK in Ireland, 1963
Biden arrives for state banquet at Dublin Castle
Joe Biden has arrived at the State Apartments at Dublin Castle for a banquet dinner in his honour.
The event is being hosted by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and will commence with a reception in the Portrait Gallery followed by the dinner in St Patrick’s Hall.
Mr Varadkar greeted Mr Biden on the red carpet on his arrival.
Biden arrives for a state dinner at Dublin Castle
Joe Biden promised enduring US support for the peace process as he told TDs and senators that “Ireland’s story is no one’s to tell but its own”.
“The greatest peace dividend of the Good Friday Agreement is an entire generation of people, an entire generation of young people,” he said.
“Its hearts have been shaped not by grievances of the past, buy by confidence that there’s no checkpoints on your dreams. They’re writing a new future, a future of unlimited possibilities.”
He went on: “Today Ireland story is no one’s to tell but its own. But the United States will be your closest partner, your most dependable partner, and your most enthusiastic supporter every step of the way. I promise you.
“We’re going to continue to grow our enormous economic relationship as a foundation for both our nations’ prosperity.”
Biden prays after delivering his speech to the Dail
Ireland has ‘best poets in world', says Biden
Joe Biden said Ireland has the best poets in the world and quoted Seamus Heaney in the Dail.
The US president’s address to the Irish Parliament coincided with the late Nobel Laureate’s birthday.
Mr Biden thanked Mr Heaney’s widow Marie for a signed copy of his work, and added: “I was always quoting Irish poetry in the United States Senate over my career.
“It’s a long career – 36 years. And my colleagues always thought I did it because I was Irish. That’s not the reason, they have the best poets in the world.”
He said his favourite poem was “The Cure At Troy” and read a quote.
“He wrote, ‘Don’t hope on this side of the grave. But then, once in a lifetime, that longed-for tidal wave of justice can rise up and hope and history rhyme’,” Mr Biden said.
“It’s everything I’ve been taught, rise up. We’ve, in the past, made hope and history rhyme.
“So today, ladies and gentlemen, as we celebrate the enduring partnership between our nations, our shared past, our present, let’s set our eyes squarely on the future.”
‘It’s an honour to be here’: Biden closes speech
Joe Biden closed his speech to the Irish parliament with a plea for peace in the future.
“No matter what party we belong to, our values are the same. It’s about honesty, dignity, justice and you all have every ingredient to make it work.
“It’s an honour to be here. Thank you very much,” he said before receiving a standing ovation.
UK should work closer with Ireland to keep the peace, says Biden
Britain should be working closer with Ireland to keep peace in Northern Ireland, Joe Biden said in an address to the Dail.
The US president said the Good Friday Agreement, signed 25 years ago, “still needs champions”.
“We must never forget that peace has become a lived reality for an entire generation of young people,” he said, adding: “Peace is precious.”
After years of uncertainty in Northern Ireland due to Brexit, the president said: “I think that the United Kingdom should be working closer with Ireland and this ever this endeavour. Political violence is never going to be allowed to take hold on this island.”
Biden toasts ‘Irish blood’ spilled to set America free
Continuing his address to the Irish parliament, Joe Biden said: “Today, I’d like to reflect on the enduring strength of the connections between Ireland and the United States. A partnership for the ages begins in our shared history, dating back to the very founding of the United States.
“The Irish hearts that helped kindle the torch of liberty and my country and fire its revolutionary spirit, the Irish blood from across this island that was willingly given for my country’s independence.
“The Irish hands that laid the foundations of a new kind of future. One from the bottom up and the middle out one built on freedom.”
Biden in gaffe territory again with All Blacks reference
The US president went on: “I always have a little bit of Ireland close by when I’m in Washington. In the Oval Office. I have the rugby ball signed by the Irish rugby team the ball the team played when they beat the All Blacks in government.”
Yesterday, Mr Biden made a major gaffe when he mistakenly referred to the All Blacks as the Black and Tans; the former the New Zealand national rugby team and the latter a name for British reserve troops in the Irish War of Independence.
He added: “My cousin, one of Ireland’s greatest rugby stars Rob Kennedy brought it to DC on St Patrick’s Day in 2022 to give me and I didn’t play rugby except when I was out of school out of law school. And I didn’t play very well we played in a rugby club. But I did play American football, the few other sports but I realised that, you know, you guys are all nuts. “
‘Well Mom’, Biden starts with nod to roots
Joe Biden’s first words as he took the stand to address the Irish parliament: “Well Mom, you said it would happen.”
He went on to apologise to the infant child of an audience member for “havign to listen to the policy speech of an American president.”
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2023-04-13 21:30:22Z
CBMiaWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmluZGVwZW5kZW50LmNvLnVrL25ld3MvdWsvaG9tZS1uZXdzL2pvZS1iaWRlbi1pbi1pcmVsYW5kLXZpc2l0LXByZXNpZGVudC1sYXRlc3QtYjIzMTkwODIuaHRtbNIBbWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmluZGVwZW5kZW50LmNvLnVrL25ld3MvdWsvaG9tZS1uZXdzL2pvZS1iaWRlbi1pbi1pcmVsYW5kLXZpc2l0LXByZXNpZGVudC1sYXRlc3QtYjIzMTkwODIuaHRtbD9hbXA
