Biden Visits Belfast, Dublin to Commemorate Good Friday Pact & Aims to 'Keep the Peace'

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US President Joe Biden will participate in high-level meetings in Northern Ireland and Ireland on Wednesday and Thursday to discuss with his counterparts regional and global security, while marking the anniversary of a historic peace agreement that comes amid a spike in violence and political tensions.

Monday marked the 25th anniversary since the Good Friday Agreement - also known as the Belfast Agreement - was signed, ending decades of violence and bringing peace and stability to Northern Ireland.

Biden will praise the Good Friday Agreement during his visit, according to US officials, just as Northern Ireland is facing rising political tensions amid the absence of a functioning government and no annual budget post-Brexit. This comes despite the post-Brexit Windsor Framework the EU and UK recently finalized.

Biden before he departed on Tuesday told reporters his top priorities.

"Make sure the Irish accords and the Windsor agreement stay in place, to keep the peace," Biden said. "That’s the main thing. And it looks like we’re going to. Keep your fingers crossed."

Hoping 'The Troubles' Remain Past

In late March, authorities in Northern Ireland raised the terrorism threat level to "severe" due to an increase in activity by dissident Irish republican militants.

Meanwhile, Northern Ireland has a seen a recent trend of glorifying "the Troubles" - the very period of instability the Good Friday deal was supposed to shut the door on - with rap groups donning rebel paraphernalia and singing of petrol bombs and burning police cars.

Irish poet Rosemary Jenkinson believes the pining for "the Troubles" is not unlike the nostalgia some folks have for the Second World War.

"All these protocol things - it’s documents. The present is dry, whereas the past was flesh. There was humor and danger - and that’s potent," she told UK media last week.

Biden will kick off his visit to Northern Ireland with a meeting with his UK counterpart Rishi Sunak on Wednesday.

In light of Biden's visit and unrest in the region, Sunak has unsuccessfully been urging Stormont, Northern Ireland's parliament, to reconvene.

Earlier this week, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Biden, after his bilateral with Sunak, will deliver remarks at Ulster University marking "the tremendous progress" since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.

"He will underscore the readiness of the United States to preserve those gains and support Northern Ireland's vast economic potential to the benefit of all communities," Kirby said.

Kirby during a Monday briefing declined to reveal what Biden and Sunak will discuss during their bilateral meeting but confirmed the two would not engage in talks about a bilateral free trade agreement.

Kirby also declined to confirm whether Biden and Sunak will discuss the leak of US and NATO intelligence related to Ukraine.

On Thursday, Biden will be in Dublin to participate in a separate meeting with Irish President Michael Higgins and Ireland's Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. "In both meetings, the president will discuss our close cooperation on the full range of shared global challenges," Kirby said in Monday's press briefing.

Kirby said the Irish government has been a strong supporter of Ukraine, providing vital non-lethal assistance, including medical supplies, body armor, and support for Ukraine's electric grid, as well as their agriculture. They have also supported EU sanctions on Russia, he added.

Later on Thursday, Biden will address a joint session of Irish parliament touching on topics that include US-Irish cooperation to advance democracy, peace, security and prosperity, as well as the shared deep history between the United States and Ireland, according to Kirby.

No news conferences are expected on this trip, Kirby said.

Irish Roots

Biden has long touted his Irish ancestry. Ireland’s Irish Family History Center told US media that Biden "is among the most ‘Irish’ of all US presidents," with 10 of 16 great-great-grandparents emanating from the Emerald Isle.

Biden during the trip is expected to visit County Louth in the midlands and east coast region, where his great-grandfather James Finnegan was born, US officials said, and will tour Carlingford Castle, built in 1190.

On Thursday night, Biden will attend a banquet dinner at Dublin Castle, Kirby said.

On Friday, the president will travel to County Mayo in Ireland's west, where he will tour the sanctuary of Our Lady of Knock, a Catholic pilgrimage site. He will also visit the North Mayo Heritage and Genealogical Center's Family History Research Unit, according to the White House.

Eagerly awaiting Biden's visit are locals in a small Mayo town called Ballina, where a mural of Biden was erected in 2020. Distant cousin Joe Blewitt told US media that Biden pledged to return if he won the presidency.

Many people from Ballina and other towns in Mayo moved to Pennsylvania in the 19th century, the report said. Ballina is actually a "sister city" with Biden’s hometown Scranton.

Biden will also deliver remarks at St. Muredach's Cathedral, where a distant relative sold bricks that were eventually used to construct the cathedral, according to the White House.