Biden Set to Visit Ireland
President Biden attends an annual Saint Patrick’s Day event in Washington, DC, in 2022. Photo: Nicholas Kamm / Agence-France Presse
United States President Joseph Biden is set to visit Ireland April 11, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.
Biden is expected to visit both Belfast in Northern Ireland and much of the Republic of Ireland, which will consist of the bulk of the trip. Biden’s visit will coincide with the trips of other American and world figures, including former United States President Bill Clinton and United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
The Good Friday Agreement, signed on April 10, 1988, helped end the period of violence in Northern Ireland known as the Troubles, a conflict between partisan groups like the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and the Ulster Volunteer Forces (UVF), as well as official parties like the British Army. The Agreement gave control of Northern Ireland to the United Kingdom and saw a reduction in British military presence in the territory.
The Good Friday Agreement came into the spotlight again following the successful Brexit referendum, once again sparking intense debate about the status of Northern Ireland. Leo Vardakr, Ireland’s current Taoiseach, argued that the United Kingdom would still be bound by the Good Friday Agreement.
Remnants of life in the Troubles remain visible in Northern Ireland. The conflict, which saw the death of over 3,500 people and the injury of over 47,000 people, created lasting physical borders in cities like Belfast. So-called “peace walls,” erected in attempts to stem the violence, criss-cross Belfast and remain standing.
The walls remain a tangible physical reminder of the scars of the Troubles, but efforts to commemorate the sometimes uneasy peace have grown in recent years. On Friday, April 7, Belfast politicians and clergymen led the formation of a “human peace wall.” The wall was formed on Belfast’s Northumberland Street, which connects the Catholic and pro-Irish Falls Road to the Protestant and pro-British Shankill Road.
A “peace wall” separates two neighborhoods in Belfast. Photo: Andrew Testa / The New York Times
Ahead of Biden’s visit to Belfast, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak praised the Good Friday Agreement as “a powerfully rare example of people doing the previously unthinkable to create a better future.” Taoiseach Varadkar has expressed similar sentiments to Sunak, including stating a desire to renegotiate power structures in Northern Ireland.
Varadkar told reporters that he now seeks “deep engagement” with the United Kingdom and the other signatories of the Good Friday Agreement to rethink the way power is shared in Northern Ireland.
Although previous Presidential visits to Ireland have not been without trouble, including when eggs were thrown at Richard Nixon, Biden’s visit has left some locals hopeful that the American President will visit his ancestral towns and relatives.
Biden traces his ancestry to Ireland, and previous visits to Ireland have seen Biden connect with distant cousins, including eating dinner at their houses. Biden identifies as Roman Catholic, the majority religion in Ireland. Biden, along with John F. Kennedy, is one of two Roman Catholic American Presidents.
Biden’s strong Irish ties have not been without controversy. In 1985, Biden publicly opposed new extradition deals that would allow the British government to extract IRA partisans from the United States, which critics suggest may have been Biden picking sides based on his Irish pride.
The primary focus of Biden’s visit, however, remains trade discussions and Good Friday Agreement negotiations with Taoiseach Varadkar and Prime Minister Sunak. Border negotiations will be at the forefront of the meetings between the three world leaders, and Biden has been a key figure in discussions of the freedom of movement across the Ireland-Northern Ireland border. A bridge across the border has been given the proposed name of the “Biden Bridge” to recognize the role that Biden has played in leading the negotiations.
Irish police remain on high alert for the potential of violence. MI5, the British intelligence agency, raised the threat level for domestic terrorism to “severe.” On Sunday, April 10, the Unionist Belfast Telegraph reported that a potential New IRA bombing was foiled by local police. During an illegal Republican march in Creggan on April 10, a Police Service of Northern Ireland vehicle was attacked without casualties. Peace in Northern Ireland remains fragile, 25 years after the Good Friday Agreement.