There’s little the polarized politicians in Washington can agree on lately. It is too difficult to open cooperation between the two parties.
However, there is one issue on which almost everyone is of the same opinion. This is the meaning of the Good Friday Agreement (Good Friday Agreement)ending 30 years of bloody conflict in Northern Ireland.
The agreement itself is seen as a prime example of what can be achieved through determined diplomacy and painstaking negotiations.
American politicians are rightly proud of the role the US has played in securing peace. The tireless work of Senator George Mitchell, as well as the deep commitment of US President Bill Clinton, were key to the success.
US President Joe Biden views the agreement as part of his own political legacy and can be credited with promoting US involvement in the peace process in the 1980s and 1990s.
Protecting the Good Friday Agreement and the relative peace it brought is a top priority for the Biden administration. There are deep concerns about how Brexit might affect the deal.
Today’s visit by Biden to Northern Ireland would not have taken place if the “Windsor Trade Framework” had not been agreed to resolve the problems related to trade between Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The future of any UK-US free trade agreement also depends on keeping the Good Friday Agreement in place.
In Belfast, Biden will talk about how the US can help support him “the enormous economic potential of Northern Ireland”.
In Dublin, President Biden is expected to address the Irish Parliament and highlight the close cooperation between the two countries. He will also make a personal visit to County Louth and County Mayo to honor his family roots.
There is a long tradition of American presidents receiving a much better reception in Ireland than on many other official trips.
Bill Clinton was greeted by rapturous crowds in 1995 when he became the first US president to visit both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The New York Times newspaper then wrote that “the Irish have given Bill Clinton the best two days of his presidency”.
60 years ago John F. Kennedy described his trip to Ireland in 1963 as the best four days of his life.
Since then, the presidents Nixon, Reagan, George W. Bush, Obama and Trump did not fail to visit the Emerald Isle. All this is the envy of many other European countries, which have never enjoyed so much attention from the US.
The most Irish American president in history
Joe Biden is extremely proud of his Irish heritage. He mentions it every chance he gets. Shortly after he was elected president in 2020, he was asked by my fellow journalist Nick Bryant for a “quick comment for the BBC”. The president immediately replied: “BBC? I’m Irish!”.
He likes to quote Irish poets and uses the example of the Irish living under British rule as an occasion to express sympathy with persecuted minorities around the world.
However, the Irish diaspora in America does not have as much influence on US politics as it once did. But with 30 million Americans claiming Irish roots, which equates to one in 10 of the country’s population, it’s always good for an American president to tout his Irish ancestry.
With 10 of his 16 great-grandfathers coming from Ireland, Joe Biden is one of the most Irish presidents in US history.
Edward Blewitt was an engineer and brickyard owner who in 1850 left the west coast town of Ballina, County Mayo. He decided to go to Scranton, Pennsylvania, at a time when the devastating Great Famine in Ireland was causing plague among the population.
This week, his great-great-grandson will be greeted with a huge graffiti depicting his portrait in a town square.
On the east coast of Ireland, the town of Carlingford, County Louth is also awaiting the visit of the American president. It was from there that Biden’s great-great-grandfather, Owen Finnegan, left for America in the late 1840s.
Recently, residents of the Cooley Peninsula have been anticipating the construction of the long-awaited Carlingford Lough Bridge, which will improve economic links by connecting them to Northern Ireland. The locals like to call it the “Biden Bridge”.
The American president can only dream of receiving such a rapturous reception anywhere in the United States.
*Translation: BTA
