Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has asked to accompany President Barack Obama to Ireland on his trip there in May, IrishCentral has learned.The date is expected to be May 23.

Hillary is already an extremely popular figure in Ireland and a frequent visitor there. She and her husband played a major role in resolving the Northern Ireland conflict.

Ironically, Hillary’s role in that event became an issue between her and Obama dutring the most recent Democratic presidential campaign with Obama arguing that Hillary overstated her involvement.

It is unusual for the Secretary of State and the president to travel together to a country unless it is for a major international conference, which is not the case with Ireland.

However, Hillary’s deep roots and many friendships there will make it even easier for Obama to strike the right note when he visits.

It has now been clarified that her husband, Bill Clinton will not be in Ireland on those dates, despite previous reports.

Hillary, however, would make the Obama trip even more prestigious in the eyes of the world and once again point up the deep importance of ties to the country where 40 million Irish Americans spring from.