US President Joe Biden will deliver public remarks outside St. Muredach's Cathedral in Ballina, Co Mayo on Friday, April 14.
The event, announced by the US Embassy in Ireland on April 5, is free and open to the public. Anyone wishing to attend should register online here or at ie.usembassy.gov.
Additional details on event registration, schedule, transportation, and the program will be announced in the coming days.
Speaking ahead of the event, US Ambassador to Ireland Claire Cronin said: “I am so excited that President Biden will speak at a homecoming celebration event in Ballina, County Mayo.
"This will be a once-in-a-generation event and I hope families will come to see the President of the United States speak.
"Ireland has a special place in President Biden’s heart, and I know this visit will be very special to him. I have no doubt that he will receive a Céad Míle Fáilte from the people of Ireland.”
I am looking forward to welcoming @POTUS to Ireland next week. pic.twitter.com/oi9grwxX2T
— Ambassador Claire Cronin (@USAmbIreland) April 5, 2023
This won't be Biden's first time visiting Co Mayo. Last year, for Mayo Day 2022, the President penned a letter that said in part, "the beauty of County Mayo is only rivaled by the generosity and goodness of its people - a goodness I felt when I visited a few years ago and reconnected with my Irish family."
Biden said his "great-grandfather Edward Francis Blewitt traced his roots to Ballina in County Mayo, from where his family boarded a ship 165 years ago, bound for the promise of America."
President of the United States, Joe Biden has penned a letter with a message to Mayo people around the globe for Mayo Day 2022https://t.co/hvZINWQWLj#MayoDay #HomeToMayo pic.twitter.com/2U3VLXiS5Z
— Mayo.ie (@MayoDotIE) April 29, 2022
The announcement of Biden's address in Ballina came the same day that the White House finally confirmed the details of the US President's visit to Northern Ireland and Ireland.
Biden will first travel to Belfast, Northern Ireland from April 11-12 "to mark the tremendous progress since the signing of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement 25 years ago and to underscore the readiness of the United States to support Northern Ireland’s vast economic potential to the benefit of all communities."
The President will then travel to Ireland from April 12-14. Per the White House, Biden "will discuss our close cooperation on the full range of shared global challenges.
"He will also hold various engagements, including in Dublin, County Louth, and County Mayo, where he will deliver an address to celebrate the deep, historic ties that link our countries and people."
Additional information about the trip will be forthcoming, the White House statement concluded.
Wednesday's statement from the White House comes more than three weeks after Biden said it was his "intention to go to Northern Ireland and the Republic" to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.
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