Joe Biden was treated to a red carpet, a military fanfare and a promise that his great-grandchildren can climb an oak tree he planted as he visited the Irish president’s home in Dublin.
The US president said he was feeling “great” as he was welcomed to Aras an Uachtarain and complimented the beauty of the 18th century building, comparing it to the White House and indicating he did not want to leave.
Mr Biden, who is on the second day of the Ireland leg of his trip, once again spoke of his pride in his Irish ancestry and his hopes for continued peace on the island.
Smiling when asked how he was after planting an Irish oak tree and ringing the Peace Bell, Mr Biden told reporters: “I’m feeling great and I learned a lot hanging out with the (Irish) president.”
It was Mr Biden’s third visit to the residence, but his first as president, and he told President Michael D Higgins it was “a pleasure to be back”.
He spent almost two-and-a-half minutes writing a message in the visitors book as he sat at a small table in the residence’s state reception room flanked by an Irish tricolour and the US stars and stripes.
Asked what he wrote in the book, Mr Biden told reporters he quoted an Irish proverb, saying “your feet will bring you where your heart is”.
He said he also wrote how it had been an honour to return to his ancestral home to “celebrate the things that bind Ireland and the United States and recommit ourselves to peace, equity and – I think the most Irish word used in my family – dignity”.
Mr Biden added: “I’m not going home, I’m staying here. Isn’t this an incredible place? All you American reporters: looks just like the White House, right?”
Under bright blue skies and with the sun shining down – in contrast to the soggy outings for the first part of his trip – Mr Biden stood on the red carpet in the lush green surroundings of the residence in Dublin’s Phoenix Park as the US and Irish national anthems were played.
He inspected a military guard of honour and met Irish Defence Forces Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Sean Clancy and head of the Irish police, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris, as well as other dignitaries.
Following a private meeting with President Higgins, Mr Biden followed in the footsteps of his predecessors as he helped plant a tree in the garden, during which army buglers played a fanfare.
Speaking to Mr Higgins, he said: “Mr President, I asked whether or not my great-grandchildren can come back and climb this tree when it grows?”
“Oh absolutely,” replied the Irish president.
US presidents John F Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama have all planted trees in the grounds, as have Pope John Paul II and the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Shortly afterwards Mr Biden rang the Peace Bell – which had been unveiled in the grounds in 2008 to mark the 10th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.
Ringing it four times, he said he was doing so for the US, his ancestral home of Ireland, for his ancestors and for peace.
Speaking to reporters afterwards, Mr Biden reiterated his belief in the importance of the Good Friday Agreement and his hope that powersharing in Northern Ireland will be restored.
“I hope that the government begins to function as it used to in terms of functioning as a representative body in the north,” he said.
“I think that’s necessary and that’s for you all to decide, not for me to decide.”
He also reflected on the experience of Irish-Americans, speaking about the geographical similarities between the Boyne Valley in the east of Ireland and Pennsylvania.
He repeated remarks he has previously made about how both his and former president Mr Obama’s distant grandfathers had left Ireland in the middle of the 19th century.
He described it as “remarkable” that both of them had descendants who went on to become US presidents, adding “that’s the Irish”.
One of President Higgins’ beloved Bernese mountain dogs appeared briefly at one stage as the president walked back towards the house.
Two-year-old Misneach – the Irish word for courage – ran past Mr Biden as he spoke with President Higgins’ wife Sabina.
In a statement following the visit, President Higgins said he was “delighted” to welcome Mr Biden back to his official residence, saying it was a timely visit given the Good Friday Agreement anniversary and that it is also the 60th anniversary of the visit of President John F Kennedy to Ireland in June 1963.
He said: “The Irish people are very conscious of our strong connection to President Biden, and I was pleased to acknowledge the warmth of the welcome which President Biden has already received in Louth and which I have no doubt he will receive tomorrow in Mayo, the two counties of his own closest heritage.”
President Higgins said they had discussed Mr Biden’s “continuing support for the trade union movement, as well as his work to ensure sustainable change and transformation and a green transition through his economic policies, including in the automotive industry and investment in infrastructure expenditure”, as well as Irish artistic and cultural works.
