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US President Joe Biden said “try to keep me out” when he was officially invited to Ireland, said Taoiseach Micheál Martin.
In an interview with CNN on Friday, in which Martin discussed the possibility of becoming the first head of government to meet with the new president, he revealed that he had already asked him to return to the home of his ancestors.
“I invited President Biden to Ireland and he jokingly said, ‘try to keep me out,’” he told the Amanpour program in a nearly 20-minute interview that also delved into the homes of mothers and babies and Covid issues.
A state visit by Mr. Biden is considered by many to be a virtual certainty given his strong and valuable Irish heritage (Mr. Biden’s ancestors emigrated from Co Mayo and Co Louth), but the traditional St. Patrick’s Day trip from Martin this year is less clear.
The Taoiseach said that no decisions had yet been made regarding the White House’s annual engagement, but that officials would get involved and do what was safe in the context of Covid-19.
“We are both very interested in cementing that historic relationship between the United States of America and Ireland, which goes back to ages,” Martin said.
“It is an important relationship in the modern age. It has cultural and artistic manifestations, it has economic manifestations and, of course, in the context of Ireland’s membership in the European Union, we see ourselves as potential bridge builders between the United States and the European Union. “
The Taoiseach’s comments came shortly after Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said he expected to visit the White House on St. Patrick’s Day.
Then-Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s visit to former President Donald Trump last year was cut short amid the first coronavirus outbreak.
“I think it will [go ahead this year]”Mr. Coveney told RTÉ on Friday. “But we have to find out how we can safely make St. Patrick’s Day this year.
“As we know, the parades have already been canceled. But we will communicate in the most appropriate way that we can, in the most impactful way that we can, obviously being sensitive to public health perspectives. “
The tradition of everyday Irish taoise featuring the president of the United States with a bowl of shamrocks on St. Patrick’s Day dates back to 1956, and the exchange will receive renewed vigor this year given the strong ancestral ties to Biden.
Coveney also praised the new administration for its change of direction since Trump’s presidency.
“I think it will be a lot easier now with the Biden administration that I think we share our values and our approach, to go above politics and multilateralism, to get things done,” he said.
“I look forward to traveling, despite all the restrictions of the pandemic. I look forward to traveling to Washington soon to network with many of the Irish-Americans who are part of this administration.
“There is a lot of work to be done here, but I think it makes it a lot easier when we share a very similar approach with management.” – Additional reports, PA
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