Explained: The political and cultural significance of Joe Biden’s visit to Ireland

It’s part homecoming, part diplomacy and part politics. That’s the way experts are describing United States president Joe Biden’s visit to Northern Ireland and then onto Ireland. The 46th US president arrived in Belfast on Tuesday night for the first leg of his four-day visit and was greeted on a cold, rainy tarmac by Rishi Sunak, the prime minister of Great Britain; James Senior, the commander of the 38th Irish Brigade & Northern Ireland garrison, and a half-dozen other officials. Biden’s visit to Ireland comes 60 years after the last Irish Catholic president — John F Kennedy — visited his ancestral homeland, telling his aides later that it was the “best four days of my life.” As he set out from the United States, Biden said his goal on the trip was to “make sure the Irish accords and the Windsor agreement stay in place, to keep the peace.” “That’s the main thing,” he said, referring to agreements that helped end decades of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland. As the US president embarks on this visit, we take a closer look at why Ireland is important to Biden and what significance does it hold. Reclaiming his Irish roots Joe Biden is unequivocally proud of his Irish heritage. With two great-great-grandparents coming from Ireland, Joe Biden could be one of the most Irish presidents in American history. It is said that one of Biden’s great-great grandfather, Owen Finnegan, had left for America in the 1840s as the potato famine (1845-52) ravaged Ireland. His other great-great grandfather Edward Blewitt sold 27,000 bricks that helped build that County Mayo cathedral, and used the money to bring his family on a ship to America. Biden loves to quote Irish poets and uses the experience of Irish citizens living under British rule as a way to express empathy with persecuted minorities around the world. He also often speaks and writes about his Irish roots. In his book — Promise Me, Dad — he writes, “We Irish are the only people in the world who are actually nostalgic about the future.” [caption id=“attachment_12443902” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Joe Biden isn’t the first US president visiting Ireland. Graphic: Pranay Bhardwaj[/caption] Several political pundits state that Biden’s Irish identity overlaps with his political image. As Brendan O’Leary, a political science professor at the University of Pennsylvania, tells NPR: “I think there’s no doubt that Joe Biden is the most Irish of Irish American presidents.” As part of his Ireland visit, Biden will tour County Mayo and County Louth — from where his family hails. He will visit castles and perhaps a pub or two in County Louth — home of the Finnegans and the Kearneys, his ancestors on one side of the family — and take a tour of a shrine and a cathedral in County Mayo, where he will meet with some of the remaining Blewitts, his ancestors on the other side. The US president is accompanied on the trip to Ireland by Valerie Biden Owens, his sister, and Hunter Biden, his son. Both travelled from the United States with the president on Air Force One. Political significance Biden’s visit to Ireland is primarily to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement that brought peace to this part of the United Kingdom. The agreement, also known as the Belfast Agreement, was signed on 10 April 1998 and was designed to bring an end to 30 years of violent conflict in Northern Ireland, known as the Troubles. The Troubles refers to the term used to describe sectarian violence that took place in Northern Ireland between unionists, who wished to see Northern Ireland stay within the United Kingdom, and nationalists, who want it to become part of the Republic of Ireland. The violence that took place claimed the lives of over 3,000 people. [caption id=“attachment_12443972” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] A poster showing US president Joe Biden is seen in a window alongside flags of Ireland and United States in Ballina town centre as it prepares to welcome the US president to the town in Co Mayo, his ancestral home. AFP[/caption] After years of violence, in the late 1980s and 1990s there was willingness from all sides to end the violence and find some sort of negotiated peace. US president Bill Clinton also took a keen interest in Northern Ireland and sent a special envoy in the form of Senate majority leader George Mitchell, who would eventually chair the talks between the parties and groups. After much back and forth between all parties involved, the deal was formally made between the British and Irish governments and eight political parties from Northern Ireland, including Sinn Fein, the Ulster Unionist Party, the SDLP and the Alliance Party. The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) were the only major political group to oppose it. The agreement acknowledged the constitutional status of Northern Ireland as a part of the UK, reflecting the wish of the majority of citizens. It also established a principle of consent: that a united Ireland could come about if and when a majority of people in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland wanted it. However, there are now concerns about how Brexit may affect the agreement. Notably, after Brexit, Northern Ireland becomes the only part of UK to share a land border with the Republic of Ireland — an EU country. [caption id=“attachment_12444002” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] United States flags flutter in the breeze above shops in Ballina town centre. AFP[/caption] Checks are required on goods transported between the UK and the EU’s markets. But both sides agree this should not happen on the Irish border, to protect the Good Friday Agreement, because it is feared that cross-border co-operation could be threatened if new checkpoints are set up. To avoid any clashes at the border, the concerned parties agreed on the Northern Ireland Protocol. But this deal wasn’t acceptable to many and created a lot of friction. The DUP argues that it actually undermines the Good Friday Agreement because it separates them from the rest of the UK. In February, Britain and the EU struck a deal in February to address the tensions over trade. However, the DUP is still to accept it and has refused to return to government. It is expected that during Biden’s visit to Belfast, he will try to resolve the issue. John Finucane, a member of the British Parliament from Irish nationalist Sinn Fein party, told CNN that Biden’s visit to Northern Ireland would be a “huge help” toward resolving some of the lingering differences.

And it seems that calming minds are needed. In late March, British intelligence services raised the terrorism threat level in Northern Ireland from “substantial” to “severe”. It is left to be seen just what the effect of Biden’s visit, but one thing that is certain is that it will help the US president to connect with his ancestry and perhaps also give his probable 2024 run a boost — as 32million people claim Irish heritage in the United States. With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News,  Trending News,  Cricket News,  Bollywood News, India News and  Entertainment News here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.