WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will speak virtually with the Irish prime minister Wednesday, moving the traditional White House meeting marking St. Patrick’s Day online because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Both Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will hold separate bilateral meetings with Micheál Martin, Ireland’s prime minister, or taoiseach, and the president will also attend the annual Friends of Ireland luncheon traditionally held at the U.S. Capitol, which will also be virtual this year.
“Unfortunately, the pandemic is preventing the traditional celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, which is something that dates back to 1952,” a senior administration official said, previewing Biden’s plans for the day.
“Despite the pandemic, we are determined to fully celebrate the holiday in recognition both of the holiday as well as our strong bilateral ties with Ireland,” the administration official said.
Biden, who has Irish roots, wanted to keep the day’s events as “close to the way they would appear if we were doing this in person,” the official said.
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The Irish government sent a bowl of shamrocks, typically presented to the president during their meeting, to the White House in an effort to uphold that tradition, the official said.
Biden and Martin are expected to discuss Covid-19, security issues and Northern Ireland during their meeting. The president and Harris are also expected to emphasize their support for the Good Friday accords, also known as the Belfast Agreement, which ended the decades-long violent conflict in Northern Ireland.
Wednesday’s meeting comes shortly after the European Union announced it is taking legal action against Britain for what it called a violation of international law under the Brexit agreement related to trade with Northern Ireland. Britain has said it did not violate the deal.
Biden has said that Brexit must not jeopardize the Good Friday accords.
“In President Biden we have perhaps the most Irish American president since John F. Kennedy, and his election was greeted with great affection and warmth,” Martin said in an interview with MSNBC Wednesday morning ahead of the meeting.
“I will be thanking him for his consistent support for peace in Ireland and the Good Friday agreement,” he said.
The White House will be illuminated in green on Wednesday night, and both the North and South Lawn water fountains will be dyed green in celebration of the holiday.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
