President Biden Hosts St Patrick’s Day Celebration with Ireland’s Prime Minister

Donning a green tie and shamrocks, President Joe Biden hosted Ireland’s prime minister Leo Varadkar at the White House on March 17, for St Patrick’s Day.

This footage, streamed live on the White House official YouTube channel, shows Biden and Varadkar holding a large bowl of shamrocks after both leaders addressed a crowd gathered in the East Room.

In his speech, Biden took time to reflect on the upcoming 25th anniversary of the US-brokered Good Friday agreement.

“It’s incumbent on all of us to continue to foster that peace, to continue to find common cause so that our work may continue to bear fruit for generations to come.” Biden said.

The president also touched on a more recent agreement that would seek to ease tensions over Northern Ireland’s trading status after the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union.

In his address, Varadkar labelled Biden a “son of Ireland” before praising the US for its ongoing support of the republic.

“As we know, every American president is a little bit Irish on St Patrick’s Day, but some are more Irish than others,” Varadker joked. “And I think it’s fair to say that today we’re celebrating our national day with a president who is unmistakably a son of Ireland”. Credit: The White House via Storyful