US president Joe Biden has said the home of his emigrant ancestors, was now a leader on the global stage.
He described the Republic as a “global force in culture and in the arts”.
He added: “Leaders on the world stage, members of the United Nations Security Council, a country with a past that tugs at our hearts and a future that’s going to shape the world.”
Mr Biden, who spoke passionately about his Irish ancestry, also turned his attention to the conflict in Ukraine and the legacy of the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said that Ireland was the only country in the world that was “nostalgic for the future”.
“But of course, that means dealing with the present.
“In our time we’ve seen more change and challenges, I believe, than any time in generations. A once-in-a-century pandemic and economic unease and anxiety, existential threats, a climate crisis, and what we see today in Ukraine, an unprovoked war of aggression and just a vicious, vicious, vicious treatment.
“The march of reactionary forces of nationalism, nativism and isolationism, of autocracies – not just in Europe. We’ve seen it around the world. We’ve seen it here in America.
The president spoke of the importance of the “strength, necessity and endurance of democracy”.
Mr Biden was speaking at the 30th anniversary of the Ireland Funds Gala dinner in Washington DC on Wednesday evening.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin was also due to make an address at the event, but he was forced to leave after receiving a positive Covid test.
Mr Martin’s speech was instead given by Irish Ambassador to the US, Daniel Mulhall.
“I know you will all join with me in wishing the Taoiseach a speedy recovery,” he told the audience in Washington.
The positive test means Mr Martin will be unable to attend the traditional White House meeting with the US president, after last year's event was held virtually due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
There has been no confirmation about how this year's event will proceed, but it may be held virtually again. - Additional reporting from Press Association
