Washington keeps details of President Obama’s trip secret

The details surrounding President Barack Obama's visit to Ireland were discussed at a planning meeting held in Washington DC yesterday, according to a report in The Irish Times.

President Obama is expected to arrive in the Republic on or around May 21, but to date that the length of his stay in Ireland has not been determined, giving ground to speculation about the duration of his visit.

After a report on Irish Central that President Obama might remain in Ireland for only five hours, an opinion poll on this website found that 71 per cent of respondents felt this "would insult the people of Ireland and Irish-Americans."

The White House has taken note of the outcry and its understood that plans are already being discussed to find a workable solution within the restrictive schedule the president works in.

Meanwhile, the Irish Times reports that Queen Elizabeth is expected to visit the Garden of Remembrance to lay a wreath in honor of the leaders of the 1916 Rising during her State visit to the Republic, which is scheduled to take place on May 17 until the 20.

It is an unprecedented gesture of reconciliation by the British monarch and may prove to be one of the most symbolic moments of her Irish visit.