Joe Biden declared he was “home” in a historic address to Ireland’s parliament on Thursday, in which he spoke of the strength of US ties with Dublin and called on Britain to work more closely with Ireland to protect “precious” peace.
The US president was welcomed with sustained, rapturous applause as he entered the chamber in Dublin’s Leinster House for what he called “one of the great honours of my career”.
Asking to be forgiven for his attempt at speaking Irish, he said “Ta me sa bhaile” (I am home).
Mr Biden became the fourth US president to address the Irish parliament, after John F Kennedy in 1963, Ronald Reagan in 1984, and Bill Clinton in 1995.
In his 30-minute address, the president praised the “enduring” strength of the Ireland-US relationship as he promised “a future poised for unlimited shared possibilities”.
There were no major gaffes – a relief for the White House, a day after he had accidentally confused the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team with the hated “Black and Tans” British police force from the independence era.
Former Irish president Mary McAleese and former prime ministers Bertie Ahern and Enda Kenny were among those present, as was former Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams.
Emphasising his family ties to Ireland, Mr Biden began by looking upwards and saying: “Well, Mom, you said it would happen.”
He spoke of the “precious” peace that must be “nurtured” in Northern Ireland as he suggested that the UK should be working more closely with the Republic of Ireland to support those living in the North.
Reflecting on discussions with the Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar, President Biden said he hoped that Ireland and the United States could “work together with the United Kingdom and the European Union to support the people of Northern Ireland”.
Mr Biden added: “I think that the United Kingdom should be working closer with Ireland in this endeavour. Political violence must never be allowed to take hold again on this island.”
Representing Northern Ireland political parties were SDLP leader Colum Eastwood, Alliance chief Naomi Long, and Sinn Fein’s Northern Ireland leader Michelle O’Neill. Despite being invited, no unionist politicians attended.
The speech contained numerous references to the president’s family history, and how his story is like that of so many other Irish Americans who left the island in search of a new life.
He said talking about his Irish ancestry was “not to wax poetic about bygone days, but because the story of my family’s journey, and those who left and those who stayed, is emblematic of the stories of so many Irish and American families”.
“These stories are the very heart of what binds Ireland and America together. They speak to a history defined by our dreams, they speak to a present written by our shared responsibilities, and they speak to a future poised for unlimited shared possibilities,” he said.
Other special guests included Marie Heaney, the widow of one of Mr Biden’s favourite poets, Seamus Heaney.
The poet, who died in 2013 and would have turned 84 on Thursday, was likely to be “looking down on us with his glasses nestled between his fingers and a hint of a smile on his face”, Dail speaker Sean O Fearghail said.
The youngest person in attendance for the speech was baby Margot, the daughter of Irish Labour Party senator Rebecca Moynihan. Mr Biden jokingly apologised to the infant for making her listen to a policy speech, saying it was “as bad as what my children have been put through”.
The president said the US and Ireland share the same values, including “standing together to oppose Russia’s brutal aggression” in Ukraine.
“President Kennedy said 60 years ago, ‘Ireland pursues an independent course in foreign policy, but it is not neutral between liberty and tyranny and it never will be’ – thank you for that.
“Over the past year, Ireland has proved him right, and stood proudly with the United States and partners around the world for liberty against tyranny.”
Mr Biden has visited County Louth and is scheduled to travel to County Mayo during the remainder of his brief visit.
Press Association contributed to this report.
